The Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP) “is an award-winning mathematics education non-profit organization that has worked with educators, students, businesses and industry to support and create learning environments where mathematics is used to investigate and model real issues in our world,” according to the COMAP website.
Every year, COMAP provides students all over the world with the opportunity to test their mathematical and social problem-solving skills through sponsoring an international math modeling competition.
Select students from Asbury University will be organized into teams of three to compete in the contest. The competition will begin on Thursday Jan. 23, at 5 p.m., when the teams will be sent the incredibly complex problems, and end when the teams submit their answers and final papers at 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27.
Each of the Asbury teams will be assigned a classroom in the Hamann-Ray Science building to work in for the duration of the competition. “Except for chapel and church, many teams spend the entire weekend in their selected classroom on the third floor of Hamann-Ray,” according to the Math Modeling Overview from the Asbury math department.
For many students and faculty in the mathematics department, this contest is the pinnacle of the academic year and provides an intense space for students and faculty to work together and grow not only as mathematicians but also as friends.
“The intensity of the competition weekend teaches students to persevere in solving challenging problems, communicate both orally and in written form and work in a team with a firm deadline,” stated the Math Modeling Overview.
Not only do the teams take part in an intense weekend of mathematical problem solving, but they must also present their solutions at either the Asbury University SEARCH Symposium or the annual Kentucky Mathematical Association of America annual meeting.
Photo courtesy of COMPAP.
