Apr 18, 2011 - Claremont, Calif. -

Harvey Mudd College juniors Dylan Marriner, Daniel Furlong and Luis Ryan earned top honors in the 2011 International Mathematical Contest in Modeling and Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (MCM/ICM).

Their team received an “Outstanding” rank, which was given to only eight teams out of 2,775 entries worldwide, for their resolution in reducing the number of radio repeaters needed to serve a geographical area.

Tasked with determining the minimum number of repeaters for radio users in a 40-mile radius, the team used a clustering algorithm to group points in dense population areas and placed repeaters at the centers of each region. Their approach significantly increased the transmission capability of their network.

HMC sent seven teams to the competition in February and when the results were received this month, all seven had garnered high marks. In addition to the Outstanding team, one team earned a Meritorious designation (top 15 percent), there earned an Honorable Mention (top 45%) and two were designated as Successful Participants.

“This is an incredible showing for HMC and a testament to the strength of our core curriculum and academic program,” said Susan Martonosi, assistant professor of mathematics and MCM/ICM advisor.

The MCM/ICM is analogous to an applied Putnam exam, but in the form of a grueling 96-hour competition. Teams of up to three students are given 96 hours to solve their problem and submit their solution in the form of a research paper.  The team’s papers are judged not only on their scientific and mathematical accuracy, but also on their clarity, insight and creativity.

This year’s problems concerned:
(A) Maximizing "vertical air" achievable on a snowboarding half-pipe
(B) Minimizing the number of cell phone repeaters needed to serve a geographical area
(C) Modeling the social, environmental, health and economic impacts of Electric Vehicles

HMC teams were:

Problem B – Outstanding Winner and SIAM Prize
Daniel Furlong  ’12
Dylan Marriner ’12
Louis Ryan ’12

Problem B – Meritorious
Daniel Rozenfeld ’11
Dmitri Skjorshammer ’11

Problem A - Honorable Mention
Ryan Brewster ’12
Jackson Newhouse ’12
Richard Porczak ’12

Problem B - Honorable Mention
Sorathan Chaturapruek ’14
John Peebles ’13

Problem B - Honorable Mention
Emil Guliyev ’13
Peter Fedak ’13
Zack Purdy ’13

Problem A - Successful Participant
Joshua Edelman ’14
Russell Melick ’11
Tuan Nguyen ’14

Problem C - Successful Participant
John Cvitkovic ’11
Austin Quan ’11
David Rolfe ’11