Source: School of Mathematics and Computational Science
Written by: Zhang Jiajun
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

The results of 2015 Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) have been announced recently. The SYSU team has continuously for six years been named Finalist for contestants, the team — comprised of SYSU seniors Weikang Kong, Jianlin Liu and Zhilong Li, from School of Information Science and Technology — was ranked top 10 of the 5,356 teams in Problem A. With 22 Meritorious Winners, 99 Honorable Mentions, the winning rate of SYSU teams is 45%. In addition, SYSU had sent 273 teams, 814 students, covering faculties including mathematics, engineering, medical science, economics and business school, which has also reached a new record.
 

SYSU students Weikang Kong (left), Jianlin Liu (middle) and Zhilong Li (right) named Finalist in 2015 Mathematical Contest in Modeling
 

MCM/ICM is a world-wide contest organized by COMAP, SIAM and NSA with over 30 years’ history. It is regarded as the origin of math modeling contest and the most influential one. Contestants are required to offer a solution paper to one of the problems within 96 hours. The paper should involve the analysis to problem, feasibility, robustness and effect of the model with concise writing. The contest attracts diverse students and faculty advisors from more than 500 institutions around the world. This year, 9,773 teams from 14 countries competed, including University of Cambridge, State University of New York, Harvey Mudd College, Peking University, and Tsinghua University, etc.

Problems addressed this year require contestants to eradicate Ebola, recall the lost Malaysian flight MH370, manage human capital in organizations, and create a more sustainable world. As problems get more challenging, contestants are required to deliver well-collaborated model combining great mathematical ability and creativity to ace. 

It was the first contest in mathematical modeling for Weikang Kong, Jianlin Liu and Zhilong Li. They believe that mathematical modeling is the bridge connecting reality and abstraction, and the building process is difficult but valuable.