SIAM Student Modeling Contest

In November 2023, the University of Utah Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) student chapter held a modeling competition for undergraduates. Teams chose one of three modeling problems that were based on real-world situations. Team members worked together to analyze the problem, generate figures and results, and write a report about their findings. The reward for the winning team was their registration fee paid-in-full for the COMAP Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) in February 2024. The U’s SIAM student chapter hosted this competition to help participants prepare for the MCM and give them confidence in their abilities as scientific modelers. 

Two teams participated in the contest, one with two members (Maxwell Archibald and Jack Perry) and another team with three members (Dominic Cinaglia, Garrett Iverson, and Joshua Villarreal). Archibald and Perry studied the population dynamics of honeybees and won first place with their thorough and well-organized report, while Cinaglia, Iverson and Villarreal looked at CO2 levels and their correlation with climate change. They won second place with their strong statistical analysis and informative report. The judges were so impressed with the quality of both teams' submissions that they decided to fund both teams for the MCM this year. The teams competed in the MCM in early February and are eagerly awaiting the results.

The University of Utah SIAM student chapter is extremely grateful for the financial support of the Department of Mathematics, without which we would not have been able to fund these five deserving students.

by Delaney Mosier