Posts Tagged ‘math modeling’
5th Annual Computational Science and Engineering Student Conference
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Tags: math modeling, SIAM Student chapters, student conference, Students, undergraduate | 
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Math detects contamination in water distribution networks
Philadelphia, PA—None of us want to experience events like the Camelford water pollution incident in Cornwall, England, in the late eighties, or more recently, the Crestwood, Illinois, water contamination episode in 2009 where accidental pollution of drinking water led to heart-wrenching consequences to consumers, including brain damage, high cancer risk, and even death. In the case of such catastrophes, it is important to have a method to identify and curtail contaminations immediately to minimize impact on the public.
A paper published earlier this month in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics considers the identification of contaminants in a water distribution network as an optimal control problem within a networked system. Read the rest of this entry »
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SIAM awards undergraduates for exemplary mathematical modeling
The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) gives the SIAM Award in the Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) to two undergraduate teams judged “outstanding” among hundreds of participants worldwide in the annual MCM administered by the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP).
The contest inspires students to develop solutions involving mathematical modeling to open-ended problems in two categories: continuous and discrete. SIAM judges pick a winner in each of the two categories among teams determined “outstanding” by COMAP judging.
Both 2011 and 2012 recipients were awarded prizes at the Prizes and Awards Luncheon held on Tuesday, July 10, at the SIAM Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Enhao Gong, Rongsha Li, and Xiaoyun Wang of Beijing’s Tsinghua University, mentored by their faculty advisor, Jimin Zhang, were winners of the 2011 Continuous Problem “Snowboard Course.” Li was present to accept the award from SIAM President Nick Trefethen.
The award for the 2011 Discrete Problem, “Repeater Coordination,” went to California’s Harvey Mudd College students Daniel Furlong, Dylan Marriner, and Louis Ryan. Their faculty advisor was Susan Martonosi. Ryan accepted the award on behalf of his team.
The award for the 2012 Continuous Problem, entitled “The Leaves of a Tree,” went to the team from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. Team members Cheng Fu, Hangqi Zhao, Danting Zhu received their awards at the luncheon. Their advisor for the contest was Zhiyi Tan.
The Discrete Problem for 2012 was titled “Camping Along the Big Long River.” University of Louisville students James Jones, Suraj Kannan, and Joshua Mitchell nabbed the SIAM award in this category. They were coached by Changbing Hu. Kannan and Mitchell received the award for the team.
Winners presented their papers in a session of Student Days on Wednesday, July 11.
Student recipients each received a cash award of $300, a SIAM Student Travel Award, complimentary SIAM membership for three years, and a framed, hand-calligraphed certificate for their schools.
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The math of malaria
Philadelphia, PA – June 20, 2012—Malaria affects over 200 million individuals every year and kills hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. The disease varies greatly from region to region in the species that cause it and in the carriers that spread it. It is easily transmitted across regions through travel and migration. This results in outbreaks of the disease even in regions that are essentially malaria-free, such as the United States. Malaria has been nearly eliminated in the U.S. since the 1950s, but the country continues to see roughly 1,500 cases a year, most of them from travelers. Hence, the movement or dispersal of populations becomes important in the study of the disease.
In a paper published this month in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, authors Daozhou Gao and Shigui Ruan propose a mathematical model to study malaria transmission. Read the rest of this entry »
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Watch highlights from M3 Challenge 2012!
Watch highlights from Moody’s Mega Math Challenge 2012, where thousands of high school students from the Eastern U.S. created mathematical models to determine the best regions in the country for establishing rail lines as part of a revived High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) Program. The regions were ranked based on estimates of ridership numbers over the next 20 years, and costs of building and maintenance, in addition to the effects such rail networks would have on American dependence on foreign energy.
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An overview of M3 Challenge 2012
At Moody’s Mega Math Challenge 2012, thousands of high school students created mathematical models to determine the best regions in the country for establishing rail lines as part of a revived High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) Program. The regions were ranked based on estimates of ridership numbers over the next 20 years, and costs of building and maintenance, in addition to the effects such rail networks would have on American dependence on foreign energy. Watch a 5-minute overview video of the Challenge below:
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Mathematical modeling and the dynamics of obesity
Math can often provide quicker and more reliable answers to medical questions where experimental research could take years. So it is with obesity, as Dr. Carson Chow of the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases explained in a recent interview with the New York Times.
At the 2010 SIAM Annual Meeting, Dr. Chow gave an overview of mathematical models on obesity, giving a very engaging account of “The Dynamics of Obesity” in an invited presentation.
Weight change in the human body can be viewed simply as the difference between the rate of food intake and energy expenditure, Dr. Chow explained, going on to detail the various factors that can influence obesity. The energy density of various body components including water, bones, minerals, fat, protein and carbohydrates influence weight gain, in addition to fuel sources or macronutrients. By applying mathematical models, Dr. Chow illustrated that the “food push” in America is the primary reason for increasing obesity in the U.S. population. The high amount of food available per capita in the U.S. should be mitigated in order to control the obesity epidemic, he concluded.
Dr. Chow’s complete presentation from SIAM AN10 can be viewed on the SIAM Presents archives here.
You can also read detailed insights and a summary of his AN10 talk on his blog here.
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Students use math to help U.S. high-speed rail get back on track
Top high school teams in Moody’s Mega Math Challenge will share $115,000 in college scholarships
Philadelphia, PA – Judges for Moody’s Mega Math Challenge evaluated nearly 1,000 solution papers, and have selected the top 55 as the contest moves one step closer to deciding this year’s best.
In this year’s contest, more than 5,000 students used mathematical modeling to identify and rank the best regions in the country for establishing high speed rail lines as part of a nationwide network, an issue currently being debated in Congress. Using their math knowledge along with critical thinking, research, and analytical skills, participants provided mathematically-founded recommendations based on potential ridership numbers, cost of implementation, and effects of such a program on foreign-energy dependence. Working independently via the Internet, teams of 3-5 students had just 14 hours to study the issue, collect data, and devise models before uploading their solutions in the form of a research paper. Read the rest of this entry »
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GSMMC 2012: Graduate Student Mathematical Modeling Camp
June 5–8, 2012
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
The Department of Mathematical Sciences at RPI is pleased to announce the ninth annual GSMM Camp. The camp is a four-day informal workshop in which graduate students work in teams on problems brought by invited faculty mentors. The problems, inspired by real problems that arise in industrial applications, span a wide range of mathematics and are designed to promote problem-solving skills, while the team approach is designed to promote scientific communication.
Graduate students at all levels are invited to participate. General information and an online application form can be found at http://www.rpi.edu/dept/math/GSMMCamp/. Financial support for travel and local accommodations is available. The application deadline is April 27, 2012.
Graduate students attending the GSMM Camp are also invited to participate in the Mathematical Problems in Industry Workshop, to be held at the University of Delaware during the week following the camp. For further information about MPI 2012, students should visit http://www.math.udel.edu/MPI/.
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Is U.S. High-Speed Rail Worth the Cost?
For nearly 5,000 high school students in this year’s M3 Challenge, that’s the $100,000 question
Anyone who has filled their gas tank—or just passed by a gas station—in the past few weeks knows that the cost of gas is on the rise again. Gas prices today are 10 percent higher than they were a year ago and are projected to reach $5.00 a gallon in some parts of the country by Memorial Day.
This is a major reason why our country’s leaders are revisiting the need to establish alternate methods of transportation that are less influenced by oil prices. Just last month, a federal highway bill that would overhaul transportation programs and available funding for mass transit was heatedly debated in Congress.
This past weekend, thousands of high school students also weighed in on the mass transit issue, as competing teams in Moody’s Mega Math (M3) Challenge, an Internet-based applied-math modeling contest organized by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in All News, News, Student News | Tags: applied math, energy, math modeling, Moody's, Moody's Mega Math Challenge, oil, transportation | Comments Closed