2021 Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling® Press Release—April 23, 2021 COMAP is pleased to announce the results of the 23nd annual influence between artists, and to identify revolutionaries. The E Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM). This year 16,059 teams Problem asked teams to create a more equitable and sustainable food representing institutions from sixteen countries/regions participated in system. Students were also required to consider the timeline of the contest. Nineteen teams were designated as OUTSTANDING implementation and the obstacles to change for a region. The F representing the following schools: Problem considered the future of higher education by asking students to create a model to measure the health and sustainability of a national Beijing Normal University, China system of higher education. This problem required actionable policies Northwestern Polytechnical University, China to move a country to a healthier and more sustainable system based on Fudan University, China (AMS Award) the components they chose to include in their model and the country Shenzhen University, China (AMS Award) being considered. For all three problems, teams used pertinent data and South China University of Technology, China grappled with how phenomena internal and external to the system Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (2) needed to be considered and measured. The student teams produced (INFORMS Award 2103649, INFORMS Award 2106028) creative and relevant solutions to these complex questions and built China University of Petroleum (East China), China models to handle the tasks assigned in the problems. The problems (Vilfredo Pareto Award) also required data analysis, creative modeling, and scientific Xidian University, China methodology, along with effective writing and visualization to Renmin University, China (SIAM Award) communicate their teams' results in a 25-page report. A selection of the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China Outstanding solution papers will be featured in The UMAP Journal, (Rachel Carson Award) along with commentaries from the problem authors and judges. This Northeastern University (CN), China (INFORMS Award) year’s judges remarked that due to the multi-disciplinary nature of the Nanjing Agricultural University, China problems, teams solved these problems using a variety of methods and (SIAM Award & COMAP Scholarship Award) tools. This allowed teams to showcase their strengths in many diverse China Agricultural University, China areas including climate science, data science, education, food science, Anhui University, China information science, music, network science, operations research, Xiamen University, China policy, statistics, and sustainability. University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, China (2) (AMS Award 2123945, Leonhard Euler Award 2124497) The College of William & Mary, VA, USA 2021 ICM Statistics (SIAM Award, MAA Award & COMAP Scholarship Award) 16059 Teams participated This year’s contest ran over a single weekend Thursday, February 4 to 5551 Problem D (35%) Monday, February 8, 2021. During that time, teams of three students 3521 Problem E (22%) researched, modeled, and wrote a solution to an open-ended 6987 Problem F (43%) interdisciplinary modeling problem. The 2021 ICM was an online 19 Outstanding Winners (<1%) contest, where teams registered and obtained contest materials through 301 Finalist Winners (1%) COMAP’s ICM Website. 1191 Meritorious Winners (7%) ICM teams chose one of the following three problems: The D problem 2909 Honorable Mentions (18%) involved understanding musical influence of artists and how it may 11036 Successful Participants (69%) appear in the attributes of the music they create. Using the four data 43 Unsuccessful Participants (<1%) sets provided, students developed a model to measure influence of 551 Disqualified Teams (3%) artists as well as similarity of music. They used these two 9 Not Judged (<1%) measurements to understand musical evolution within a genre, musical 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, political science, operations research, information science, public health, sports analytics, and network science. Each team is encouraged 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 Problem Coordinators Amanda Beecher, Ramapo College, NJ Christa Cochran, Department of Defense, VA Executive Director Jessica Libertini, Geneva Center for Security, Switzerland Solomon A. Garfunkel, COMAP, Inc.