Moody's Mega Math Challenge is an applied mathematics

Applied mathematics

Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry. Thus, "applied mathematics" is a mathematical science with specialized knowledge...

 modeling contest open to high schools along the entire East Coast, from Maine to Florida. It is sponsored by The Moody's Foundation (a charity of Moody's

Moody's

Moody's Corporation is the holding company for Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Service, a credit rating agency which performs international financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities. The company also ranks the credit-worthiness of borrowers using a standardized...

 rating agency) based in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and organized by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics was founded by a small group of mathematicians from academia and industry who met in Philadelphia in 1951 to start an organization whose members would meet periodically to exchange ideas about the uses of mathematics in industry. This meeting led...

 (SIAM) based in Philadelphia. The M³ Challenge awards $100,000 in scholarship prizes each year to the top teams. An additional incentive is the recognition that the winning teams receive. The winning paper from 2008 was published in the College Mathematics Journal

College Mathematics Journal

The College Mathematics Journal, published by the Mathematical Association of America, is an expository journal aimed at teachers of college mathematics, particular those teaching the first two years. It is a continuation of Two-Year College Mathematics Journal. It covers all aspects of mathematics...

 and a representative from High Tech's team appeared on FOX Business Channel.

Registration Process

Registration is open to high school junior and senior in eligible areas. Teams consist of three to five students and one coach, who must be a teacher at their school. There is no cost to register or participate in the Challenge.

Eligibility

High schools in the following states/district are eligible for the M³ Challenge:

• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington D.C.
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin

Challenge Weekend

The M³ Challenge is held annually on a Saturday and Sunday in March. Students choose which day they wish to work. Teams download the problem from the Challenge website at 7:00 a.m. and must upload their solution paper by 9:00 p.m. that same day. They can work from any location they choose.

The Problem

Two professional Ph.D.-level applied mathematicians write the Challenge problem. Students have no knowledge of the problem before they download it on their selected Challenge day. To solve the problem, they are allowed to use any inanimate, free, and publicly available sources. They cannot have any outside help from anyone, including their teacher-coach.

2006 Problem - Solving the Social Security Stalemate

2007 Problem - Beat the Street!

2008 Problem - Energy Independence Meets the Law of Unintended Consequences

2009 Problem - $787 Billion: Will the Stimulus Act Stimulate the U.S. Economy

2010 Problem - Making Sense of the 2010 Census

Judging

Ph.D.-level applied mathematicians judge the contest in three phases. In triage, each paper is read through at least two times before being eliminated or passed on to the second round. The triage round of judging eliminates two-thirds or more of the submitted papers. In the second round of judging, papers are read up to an additional 8-10 times each, and the top papers emerge. The top six will go on to the presentation round of judging while up to 40 remaining papers receive honorable mention team awards. Judging is blind until the presentation round, with teams known only by a unique team ID number. The presentation round is held at the Moody’s corporate headquarters in the World Trade Center on Wall Street where the teams present their papers to a panel of judges. Following the presentations, judges rank the teams and a formal award ceremony takes place.

Prizes

The M³ Challenge awards seven categories of team prizes to the top 11 teams. Prize funds are shared equally among all team members; prize money goes directly to the college or university at which each student enrolls:

• M³ Challenge Champions (Summa Cum Laude Team Prize) = $20,000
• M³ Challenge Runner Up (Magna Cum Laude Team Prize) = $15,000
• M³ Challenge Third Place (Cum Laude Team Prize) = $10,000
• M³ Challenge Fourth Place (Meritorious Team Prize) = $7,500
• M³ Challenge Fifth Place (Exemplary Team Prize) = $5,000
• M³ Challenge Sixth Place (First Honorable Mention Team Prize) = $2,500
• Honorable Mention Team Prizes = $1,000 (judges may award up to 40 honorable mention team prizes)

Awards and Recognition for the M³ Challenge

• SIAM received an Award of Excellence in the first round of the 2009 Associations Advance America (AAA) Awards program for its role in organizing and administering Moody's Mega Math Challenge
• Moody's Corporation received a 2008 Excellence Award from the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP)for the company's sophisticated giving program which encourages students to develop a passion for mathematics, economics and finance, and specifically citing Moody's Mega Math Challenge which aims to excite students about employing mathematics to solve real world problems.