Apr 08, 2010 - Claremont, CA - The results of the 2010 International Mathematical Contest in Modeling were recently announced and one of the teams from Harvey Mudd earned the designation of Finalist (given to only 12 teams out of the 2254 entries worldwide). The top two categories of Outstanding and Finalist are reserved for the top 1% of entries, indicating the strength of this achievement. Three additional HMC teams earned the designation Meritorious (top 20%), one earned Honorable Mention (top 44%), and one was a Successful Participant. This is an incredible showing for Mudd and a testament to the strength of its academic program. The MCM/ICM is comparable to an applied Putnam exam in the form of a grueling-96 hour competition. As Ben Fusaro, creator of the contest in 1983, puts it: "Most problems that come up in business, government, or industry are solved by teams, are likely to take many hours, and would not be restricted to using only pencil and paper. Moreover, the answer must be presented to an executive who wants a clear, understandable response." Therefore, during the contest students work in teams of up to three students and have 96 consecutive hours to develop a mathematical model and write a formal paper describing their work. The team's papers are judged not only on scientific and mathematical accuracy, but also on clarity of exposition, insight and creativity. This year's problems required participants to explain the sweet spot of a baseball bat, generate a geographic profile of serial criminals, and model the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch. Harvey Mudd teams consisted of: For complete results, visit the contest’s website.
Judy Augsburger, Senior Director of Advancement, Communications
judy_augsburger@hmc.edu
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