Posts Tagged ‘applied math’
Mathematicians tackle global issues
Philadelphia, PA– More than 100 academic institutions and scholarly societies have joined in a major world-wide initiative: Mathematics of Planet Earth (MPE) 2013. This year-long effort will highlight the contributions made by mathematics in tackling global problems, including natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis; climate change; sustainability; and pandemics. MPE2013 partners will sponsor workshops, research conferences, public lectures, outreach events, and educational opportunities for all ages. Each country from a partner institution will host a special launch to the year.
MPE2013 enjoys the patronage of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. The Director-General of UNESCO, Irena Bokova, said, “UNESCO strongly supports this extraordinary collaboration of mathematicians around the world to advance research on fundamental questions about planet Earth, to nurture a better understanding of global issues, to help inform the public, and to enrich the school curriculum about the essential role of mathematics in the challenges facing our planet.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: applied math, environment, math of planet earth | 
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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 »
Posted in All News, News, SIAM Nuggets | Tags: applied math, contamination, math modeling, siam nuggets, water distribution | Comments Closed
Tell us why math matters and win a cash prize!
Every time you log into Facebook, you probably notice advertisements along the sidebar that seem surprising relevant to your interests. Much like the algorithms Facebook implements for advertisers to target and reach the broadest range of users, math makes it possible to determine a team’s ranking in college football, predict traffic patterns, and reduce the large, cumbersome size of an image to a workable and smaller JPEG file.
As a SIAM student member, this surely comes as no surprise to you, but what about the rest of the world? SIAM’s Math Matters, Apply It! series gives students like yourself the chance to educate others and spread awareness of the application of mathematics to our daily lives.
SIAM invites you to submit new ideas for the Math Matters series, which demonstrates the role of mathematics in everyday events and occurrences — your idea will benefit the community and you could win a cash prize of up to $250!
All SIAM student members are eligible, so check out examples of current Math Matters flyers and send us one or more submissions of your own to mathmatters@siam.org by December 14.
Please view the complete instructions prior to sending your submission.
Posted in All News, News, SIAM Student Blog, Student News | Tags: applied math, Math Matters | Comments Closed
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.
Posted in All News, News, Prizes and Awards, Student News | Tags: applied math, math modeling | Comments Closed
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 »
Posted in All News, News, SIAM Nuggets | Tags: applied math, disease transmission, infectious diseases, malaria, math modeling, siam nuggets | Comments Closed
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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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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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
What to love about Moodys Mega Math Challenge
And why to participate in the 2012 contest. Registration is open until February 24.
While most typical teenagers are relaxing, shopping, going to the movies, or hanging out with friends, thousands of their peers will spend the first weekend in March analyzing and modeling a complex, real-world issue using the power of mathematics. Participants in Moody’s Mega Math Challenge, these students will be competing for a share of $115,000 in scholarship prizes to be awarded by The Moody’s Foundation in April.
Now in its seventh year, the Challenge is free and currently open to high schools in 29 states in the Eastern United States. Organized by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), it gives eleventh and twelfth graders, working in teams of three to five, just 14 hours to attempt to solve an open-ended, applied math-modeling problem focused on a relevant issue. The top six teams—chosen after two intense rounds of judging—will travel to Moody’s Manhattan offices to present their findings to an expert panel of PhD-level mathematicians and receive their awards. Read the rest of this entry »
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