The 24 Hour Mathematical Modeling Challenge Karen Bliss

The 24 -Hour Mathematical Modeling Challenge Karen Bliss Ben Galluzzo

MCM/ICM is a great experience for students! But… Students have provided feedback about their experience with the contest: • How did other teams answer this question? • What do the judges think of our paper? • It was difficult to commit 4 full days to the competition.

The 24 MMC--Background • In 2008, I hosted the first regional 24 -hour math modeling competition (24 MMC) at the University of Iowa • Designed to be like the MCM/ICM, but to address some of the issues raised by students competing in the MCM/ICM

24 MMC Compared to the MCM/ICM, 24 MMC has three major differences/modifications: • 24 hours (over a weekend) • hosted at an institution, and competing teams work on-site, then share their solutions • solutions judged immediately and students provided feedback

24 MMC…You can do this! • The next year, I graduated and Ted Wendt and I brought the 24 MMC to our institutions • Now it has been adopted by faculty at other institutions… • Experienced directors are willing and able to help you run your first 24 MMC

24 MMC Sample Schedule Saturday 11: 30 am— 12: 30 pm Teams arrive and get settled in 12: 30 pm Welcome presentation, discuss contest rules 1 pm Contest begins! (dinner time) Students head to the dining hall together Midnight-ish Pizza party

24 MMC Sample Schedule Sunday morning Breakfast/brunch at the dining hall noon One-page abstracts due electronically; faculty judge abstracts (blind) 10 -minute presentations due electronically 1 pm afternoon 5 pm-ish Students present their solutions; faculty provide feedback on solutions and presentations; AWARDS! Teams depart

24 MMC We request that faculty accompany their teams: • Since this is a 24 -hour contest, it's nice to know that faculty are usually driving • Accompanying faculty usually remind students to be on their best behavior while they are guests • Faculty will be the judges and will help disseminate feedback

24 MMC Contest Guidelines • Similar to MCM/ICM—Free use of any inanimate sources and any software • Students submit a one-page summary/abstract after 23 hours • Limit of front of one page, with one page of tables/graphs, as needed, and an unlimited number of pages of sources

24 MMC Awards & Feedback • • • Faculty choose one best paper (judged only on the summary), and the results will be announced at the awards ceremony at the end Accompanying faculty will also divvy up teams and decide who will provide feedback to which teams after the presentations While the judges are frantically wrapping up their work, the students are putting the final touches on their presentations

24 MMC – the 25 th hour • Students then present their solutions to each other • Students are given rubrics to judge the presentations, and the best presentation is awarded “The People's Choice Award” at the awards ceremony

24 MMC Finale • After the presentations, we have a cake to celebrate the conclusion of the contest • We call each team to the front and present each team member with a little “prize” based on our interactions with them during the contest

24 MMC Logistics • • • Space (access) Parking Food IT (internet access) PR (get campus-wide recognition for what you're doing!) • Monetary logistics • Reaching out to local colleges/universities • One weekend

24 MMC Costs • Contest costs can be held relatively small: --use your dining hall for meals --snacks and pizza --prizes from a dollar store • Most costs can be covered by a small registration fee ($10 --$25 per student) (often covered by the team's school)

Going Postal With the rise of the Internet and the ease of distant communication, the volume of mail sent through US Post Office has dropped dramatically. The cost of sending regular First-Class mail has increased from 25 cents in 1988 to 44 cents in 2009, with plans to increase rates to 46 cents in 2011. Recently, the US Post Office proposed an end to Saturday mail delivery in an attempt to close a multi-billion dollar budget deficit. What does the future hold in store for the US Post Office? Model the revenue and costs of the Post Office over the next ten, twenty and fifty years. Will the proposed changes resolve the budget issues? What additional changes, if any, should be implemented?

Other past questions • Gone fishing: sustainability of fish populations in a lake • Goodbye disposable bags: outcomes of making it illegal for stores to provide disposable shopping bags • College books: predicting what the college textbook market will look like in the future • Share and share alike: determining how should Syrian (and other) refugees be “fairly” shared in the E. U.

Research in a Weekend! • • Gather data/information Build a model from past information Use the model to predict future outcome Modify the model to predict the effect of changes to the system • Communicate the results • Receive and respond to feedback • What can our students accomplish in a weekend?

It’s FUN!

24 MMC Past, Present & Future • • • Carroll College (Helena, MT) Georgia College (Milledgeville, GA) Shippensburg University (Shippensburg, PA) University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA) University of Wisconsin – La Crosse (La Crosse, WI) • Clarkson University (Potsdam, NY) • University of Rhode Island • Virginia Military Institute

24 Hour Mathematical Modeling Challenge Volume 25, Issue 1 (2015) Thank You! Ben Galluzzo bgalluzz@clarkson. edu Karen Bliss blisskm@vmi. edu