2020 Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling® Press Release—April 24, 2020 COMAP is pleased to announce the results of the 22nd annual that limit the ability to reach this safe level and ways to more Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM). This year 7203 teams equitably distribute causes and effects. The F Problem asked students representing institutions from sixteen countries/regions participated in to create an international policy that would address the resettlement the contest. Eighteen teams were designated as OUTSTANDING needs of environmentally displaced persons (those whose homelands representing the following schools: are lost to climate change) while also preserving the cultural heritage of those peoples. This problem required students to evaluate cultural Beijing Forestry University, China significance as well as understand geopolitical issues surrounding Beijing Normal University, China refugees. For all three problems, teams used pertinent data and Brown University, RI, USA (Rachel Carson Award) grappled with how phenomena internal and external to the system Capital University of Economics and Business, China needed to be considered and measured. The student teams produced Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, China creative and relevant solutions to these complex questions and built Donghua University, China models to handle the tasks assigned in the problems. The problems Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, China also required data analysis, creative modeling, and scientific New York University, NY, USA methodology, along with effective writing and visualization to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (INFORMS Award) communicate their teams' results in a 20-page report. A selection of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China the Outstanding solution papers will be featured in The UMAP South China University of Technology, China Journal, along with commentaries from the problem authors and University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, China judges. This year’s judges remarked that due to the multi-disciplinary University of International Business and Economics, China nature of the problems, teams solved these problems using a variety The College of William & Mary, VA, USA of methods and tools. This allowed teams to showcase their strengths (COMAP Scholarship Award & Leonhard Euler Award) in many diverse areas including climate science, cooperative systems, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China (3) cultural preservation, data science, ecology, environmental science, (INFORMS Award 2009139, COMAP Scholarship Award & international relations, networks, operations research, policy, political Vilfredo Pareto Award 2013772) science, sports analytics, statistics, and sustainability. Xidian University, China (INFORMS Award) This year’s contest ran over two weekends from Thursday, February 2020 ICM Statistics 13 to Monday, February 17, 2020 for Problems D and E, and from Thursday, March 5 to Monday, March 9, 2020 for Problem F. During • 7203 Teams participated that time, teams of three students researched, modeled, and wrote a solution to an open-ended interdisciplinary modeling problem. The • 2089 Problem D (29%) 2020 ICM was an online contest, where teams registered and obtained • 2527 Problem E (35%) contest materials through COMAP’s ICM Website. • 2586 Problem F (36%) • 18 Outstanding Winners (<1%) ICM teams chose one of the following three problems: The D Problem • 234 Finalist Winners (3%) involved analyzing and quantifying team dynamics. Using data • provided, students developed and analyzed a passing network for a 565 Meritorious Winners (8%) football (soccer) team in order to better understand how overall team • 1567 Honorable Mentions (22%) performance. Based on their analyses, teams recommended strategies • 4620 Successful Participants (64%) to the coach to improve team success next year. The E Problem asked • 34 Unsuccessful Participants (<1%) teams to create a global solution to the plastic waste problem. They • 163 Disqualified Teams (2%) needed to determine a plastic waste level that could be mitigated in • 2 Not Judged (<1%) an environmentally safe way, while simultaneously identifying factors ICM is associated with COMAP’s Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM), which was held during the same weekend. ICM is designed to develop interdisciplinary problem-solving skills in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and the humanities, as well as competence in data science and written communication. Over the years the ICM problem topics have included environmental science, biology, chemistry, resource management, operations research, information science, public health, and network science. Each team is expected to include team members from a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary interests in applied problem solving and modeling. To obtain additional information and a listing of all the team designations, please visit the ICM Website at: www.mcmcontest.com. Major start-up funding for the ICM was provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation (through Project INTERMATH) and COMAP. Additional support is provided by The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). COMAP's Mathematical Contest in Modeling and Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling are unique among modeling competitions in that students work in teams to find a solution. Centering its educational philosophy on mathematical modeling, COMAP uses mathematical tools to explore real-world problems. It serves the educational community as well as the world of work by preparing students to become better informed—and prepared—citizens, consumers, workers, and community leaders. Administered by The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications Contest Director Head Judges Amanda Beecher, Ramapo College, NJ Amy Richmond, United States Military Academy at West Point, NY Executive Director Christa Cochran, Department of Defense, VA Solomon A. Garfunkel, COMAP, Inc.