The Mathematical Contest in Modeling
at the University of Puget Sound

Given that the Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) held its first competition in 1984, the University of Puget Sound has a "long" tradition of participation.

The Mathematical Contest in Modeling is an international competition sponsored by COMAP that asks teams of three undergraduates to spend a weekend modeling an applied mathematics problem. On a Thursday afternoon at 5 P.M. in February the teams receive short descriptions of two open-ended problems. Generally one has a continuous flavor (e.g. physics, differential equations) and the other has a discrete flavor (e.g. computer science, combinatorics). The teams choose one problem to work on, and may use any inanimate aids (books, computers, etc.). By Monday at 5 P.M., they are to have a complete report prepared and out in the mail.

It is amazing to see the effort expended and the results achieved by these teams in four days' time. In even numbered years, the contest is frequently undertaken by members of the Mathematical Modeling class (Math/Csci 471), and in odd numbered years the teams are frequently composed of members of Optimization class (Math/Csci 335) though this is not a requirement, and, in past years, teams have included students taking neither class. If you are a current UPS student majoring in mathematics or computer science (or one of the other sciences) and are interested in competing, please contact Professor Michael Spivey.

The problem statements from past years have been collected by Mark Parker at Carroll College.  If you wish to see some of the winning papers (there is really no such thing as a "solution") consult the Fall issue (no. 3) of each year's UMAP Journal - it is devoted entirely to a year's competition, complete with problem statements, winning papers and practitioners' commentaries.

And here's a record of our previous teams' efforts. Roughly the top 1/2% of teams receive an Outstanding designation. The next 1/2% of teams receive a Finalist designation. (This designation was introduced in 2010.) Approximately the next 19% of teams receive a Meritorious designation. About the next 24% of teams receive Honorable Mention. The remainder (around 55%) of the teams receive Successful Participant (except for a (1%) handful of Unsuccessful Participants).

Faculty Advisers have been Professor Rob Beezer (1987-2000), Professor DeWayne Derryberry (2001 and 2006), Professor Michael Casey (2002-2005) and Professor Michael Spivey (2007 - present)

UPS MCM Teams

Year	Standing	Team Members			Problem
2011	Meritorious	Kyle Brooks	Chris McGee	Kyle Wenholz	Repeater Coordination
2011	Successful Participant	David Clausen	Shepherd Engle	Matt Heflin	Snowboard Course
2010	Finalist	Nathan Hwang	Dylan Poulsen	Jeremiah Root	Criminology
2010	Meritorious	Sara Bucht	Kyle Egerdal	Lindsey Parden	Criminology
2009	Meritorious	Lehua Farrar-Ivey	Lindsey Parden		Designing a Traffic Circle
2009	Meritorious	Sam Antoine	Dylan Poulsen	Jeremiah Root	Designing a Traffic Circle
2008	Honorable Mention	Ben Ahlvin	Sara Beck	Ben Ice	Take a Bath
2008	Meritorious (Ben Fusaro Award)	Jake Linenthal	Alex Twist	Andy Zimmer	Creating Sudoku Puzzles
2007	Outstanding	Sara Beck	Spencer K'Burg	Alex Twist	Airline Seating Problem
2006	Successful Participant	Carolyn Weber	Michael Roy	Alex Twist	Wheel Chair Access at Airports
2005	Meritorious	Rachel Flodine	Elisha Sheng
2002	Honorable Mention	Gus Terlaje	Tim Terlaje	Raina Mroczek	Airline Overbooking
2002	Successful Participant	Kamaria De Chabert	Carla-Jean Fellezs	Molly Schaub	Airline Overbooking
2002	Successful Participant	Buck Defore	Christopher Caton	Jason Legan	Airline Overbooking
2001	Successful Participant	Jesse Abdul	Chris Akamine	Micah Tanaka	Hurricane Escape
2001	Successful Participant	Phillip Barker	Molly Schaub	Tommy Wiley	Hurricane Escape
2001	Successful Participant	Anita Askman	Todd Kopet	Michael Thomas	Bicycle Wheel
2000	Honorable Mention	Bret Schnorenberg	David Pendergrast	Ryan Wells	Radio Channel Assignment
2000	Successful Participant	Jennifer Graham	Michah Lenderman	Amanda White	Radio Channel Assignment
1999	Outstanding-INFORMS	Dan Forrest	Murray Johnson	Garrett Aufdemberg	Deep Impact
1999	Meritorious	Melody Laycock	Jon Panttaja	David Pendergrast	Deep Impact
1999	Honorable Mention	Nick Michal	Steve Swanson	John Kenworthy	Unlawful Assembly
1999	Successful Participant	Cari MacKay	Jessica Evans	Jennifer Graham	Deep Impact
1999	Unofficial	Brent Martin	Tommy Wiley	Glen Meharg	Deep Impact
1999	Unofficial	Jessica Meyers	John Kotje	Nick Kirsch	Unlawful Assembly
1998	Meritorious	Melody Laycock	Nick Michal	Jon Panttaja	MRI Scanners
1998	Meritorious	Brian Fraker	Dan Forrest	Murray Johnson	Grade Inflation
1998	Honorable Mention	Vicki Crooks	Lori Inman	Nathalie Williams	Grade Inflation
1998	Successful Participant	Cari MacKay	Will Smith	Matt VanHorne	Grade Inflation
1997	Meritorious	Jonathan Buck	Steve Hastings	Matt Shupe	Dinosaur Hunting
1997	Successful Participant	Brad Johnson	Kim Mathewson	Micah Whitman	Dinosaur Hunting
1997	Honorable Mention	Nick Michal	Jon Panttaja	Steve Swanson	Group Discussions
1997	Successful Participant	Charles Aggenbach	Jason Clark	Erik Kramer	Group Discussions
1997	Unofficial	Dan Forrest	Murray Johnson	Gabe Newton	Dinosaur Hunting
1996	Honorable Mention	Alison Moser	Shannon O'Leary	Matt Shupe	Submarine Tracking
1996	Honorable Mention	Steve Hastings	Anne Hiigel	Ryan Troy	Paper Judging
1996	Honorable Mention	Eric Cook	Jennifer Hunter	Anton Kramer	Paper Judging
1995	Honorable Mention	Eric Cook	Gretchen Harriman	Adrienne Sarmiento	Faculty Compensation
1995	Successful Participant	Arden Ewin	David Neel	Donna Baldwin	Faculty Compensation
1994	Meritorious	Eric Anderson	Ted Day	Tim Schaub	Network Design
1994	Meritorious	Tanya Miller	Christine Steele	Brent Steiner	Network Design
1993	Honorable Mention	Todd Ellebracht	Ross Larsen	Greg Luethe
1993	Honorable Mention	Ted Day	Mark DosRemedios	Sean Murray	Coal-Tipple Operations
1992	Meritorious	Julie Lindemann	Sean Murray	Mark DosRemedios	Power Restoration
1992	Honorable Mention	Steve Hackstadt	John Hasegawa	Devon McNare	Power Restoration
1987	Honorable Mention	Chris Pirih	Joe Strand	Mike Williamson	Parking Lot Layout

Bob Matthews, matthews@ups.edu, Updated: April 7, 2011; Created: May 8, 1996