Randolph math teams earn special recognition in international contest

Two teams of Randolph mathematics and physics students earned special designation as “Successful Participants” in the 2017 Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM). The contest included 8,843 participating teams from around the world.

“Our students completed their required mission within four long days, but there is still room for them to improve their modeling skills in the future,” said Jia Wan, Randolph mathematics professor and the teams’ advisor. “MCM is an excellent opportunity for our students get involved in an international contest, working independently on a real life project, and applying their knowledge on a creative basis.”

Although a math background is recommended, participants are not required to be a mathematics major. The first team, consisting of Nhut Dang ’18, Benjamin Wang ’18, and Emad Davis ’19, worked on the problem of “Optimizing Traffic Merge after Toll.” Their solution model was summarized in a research paper, which was mailed to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

A second team consisting of John Coffron ’20, Charles Thomas Chaffin ’20, and Danish Roshan ’17 worked on “Designing Traffic Models for Self-Driving Vehicles for City of Seattle.” Their solution model was also summarized in a research paper and mailed to the Washington governor’s office.

“All the student participants were very excited to get involved, and learned from this experience,” Wan said. “And some of them have already expressed interest in taking MCM again next year.”

Randolph also fielded a team in the MCM in 2015, when Will Webb ’15, Zhe Zhang ’15, and Hart Gillespie ’15 earned the “Honorable Mention” designation for their work.