Feb. 14, 2008

Simpson College math and science majors will get a chance to solve real-world problems faced by scientists during an international mathematics competition over the weekend.

About 30 students will participate in the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications Mathematical Contest in Modeling and Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling.

The competition begins Feb. 14 and ends Feb. 18. Approximately 1,000 schools from around the world participate in the contest. About a third of them are from the United States.

The student teams can chose between two or three different questions. They must submit their answers over the Internet by the contest deadline on Monday. In the past, questions have dealt with issues such as how to load an airplane more efficiently and how to determine who receives the next available organ on a donor list. Some papers end up being 30 to 40 pages long.

“You can pretty much bet that Friday, Saturday and Sunday, most of the students will only get two to three hours of sleep,” said Rick Spellerberg, professor of mathematics.

Students will receive the results about six weeks after the competition ends. Spellerberg said Simpson typically performs very well, especially compared to other Iowa colleges and universities. Last year, Simpson received five honorable mentions and two successful participations.

The math department hosts a variety of events to support the teams, including a kick-off party on Thursday and a potluck dinner on Saturday night. Faculty members work in shifts to ensure that the Carver Science Center remains open almost 24 hours a day during the competition to allow students enough time to work.

Click here to learn more about the math department at Simpson.