UAF undergrads shine in international math competition

Submitted by Sonja Bickford
Phone: (907) 474-6714
03/31/06

Fairbanks, Alaska--Two teams of University of Alaska Fairbanks undergraduate math students were recently ranked "meritorious" for their performance in the 2006 Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM). The ranking is the second-highest possible in the international applied mathematics and simulation competition.

The UAF teams, comprised of three students each, were taught and coached by computer science faculty advisor Orion Sky Lawlor, a past MCM contestant and UAF alumnus. Paul Gentemann, Alex Ross and Kent Overstreet, made up the "GRO" team, while the "SLY" team consisted of Troy Lawlor, Jay Schamel and Elyse Yeager.

The contest requires students to pick one of two problems to model and then spend 96 hours writing code and preparing a write-up for the problem of their choice. GRO’s submitted write-up was 45 pages and team SLY’s was 82 pages long.

"UAF has had quite a few outstanding papers in the past," said Lawlor.

UAF has rated outstanding in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999, and won the SIAM award, given each year to three teams that receive an outstanding rating, in 1991, 1993 and 1995.

This year 970 teams from around the world participated in the competition. Of those, 15 received the "outstanding" rating and 170 teams were rated "meritorious."

UAF students placed in the top 20 percent in this year’s competition, a great achievement in a contest that draws the brightest students from the most prestigious institutions in the world.

For more information about the 2006 Mathematical Contest in Modeling visit: www.cs.uaf.edu/2006/mcm/

Contact: Orion Sky Lawlor, CS Faculty Advisor, at ffosl@uaf.edu. Sonja Bickford, CNSM PR officer, at (907) 474-6714 or via e-mail at s.bickford@uaf.edu