Winona State, UW-Stevens Point Earn
Top Honors at Math Modeling Challenge

Eleven teams of undergraduate students from seven institutions recently competed in the third annual Wisconsin Mathematical Modeling Challenge (WMMC) at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. 

The competition drew teams from across the Midwest, including groups from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Ripon College, Viterbo University, UW-La Crosse, UW-Platteville, UW-Stevens Point, and Winona State University.

This year's 'challenge' asked teams to consider one of two problems: 1) Determine the most influential users in a social network based on a two-week sample of data from the website, or 2) predict the effect of new media on the academic textbook market.  (The full text of each problem statement and the related data sets are available here.)  Each team was comprised of three undergraduate students, and teams were given 24 hours to develop a model for their predictions, write an executive summary of their results, and prepare a formal presentation for their peers.

The Winona State University team of Michael Bloch, Sam Helmich, and Kristin Mara (advised by Dr. Samuel Schmidt) won the prize for outstanding oral presentation, while the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point team of Juan Gonzales, Gretchen Peterson, and Skylor Schermer (advised by Dr. Andy Felt) won for outstanding written summary.

Contest Overview

On October 8th, 2011, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse department of mathematics hosted the third annual Wisconsin Mathematical Modeling Challenge (WMMC).  This regional math contest gives undergraduate students the opportunity to apply their math skills to real world problems. In teams of three, students have 23 hours to develop and test a model and write a one-page summary of their findings; teams have one additional (24th) hour to finalize a 10 minute presentation explaining their results. Soon after preparing their presentations, teams present their findings to other student WMMC participants. The event concludes with an award ceremony that highlights the work of winning teams as determined by students and advisors.

Why the WMMC?

COMAP's Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) successfully encourages teamwork, creativity and written exposition. However, one (logistically necessary) element that many students remark is lacking from this competition is adequate feedback -- both from the micro perspective "What do the judges really think of my team's paper?" to the macro "How did other teams answer this question?" This contest was designed in response to the aforementioned student concerns and has been developed to meet the following objectives:

  • Encourage independent thinking.
  • Promote collaboration.
  • Develop mathematical communication abilities.
  • Prepare student teams to participate in the MCM.
  • Create a unique mathematical community.

Interested in Competing?

More information about the WMMC can be found by reading the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and the schedule. A WMMC informational flyer is available here. If you have additional questions or comments, or if you are interested in being a part of future contests, please contact me.