UF Students Earn Honors at International Math Challenge
Two University of Florida teams of undergraduate students have received Meritorious Awards for their participation in the SIMIODE Challenge Using Differential Equations Modeling (SCUDEM) VII, held in the fall of 2022.
The SCUDEM VII is a three-week challenge for undergraduate and high school students, focused on addressing real-world scenarios using the power of mathematics. This year, the UF representatives were among 366 students from across the globe. They received feedback from some 296 faculty judges.
Each team, made up of three individuals or less, selected from problems including “Introducing Stress,” the “Mechanics of Suction Feeding,” and “People Ruin Everything.” The competitors then presented solutions to their chosen problems through video presentations.
One UF team chose to pursue the problem “Introducing Stress,” earning a Meritorious Award. This team created a model inspired by astronauts, who endure the harsh conditions of space while working on the International Space Station. They modeled the stress of a group and explored how certain events and schedules can change their capabilities.
- Habeneyom Belai, a junior majoring in mathematics and physics, with a minor in electrical engineering and economics
- Christopher Prieto, a senior majoring in mathematics and physics
- Benjamin Sherwin, a junior majoring in mathematics and astrophysics
The other, also receiving a Meritorious Award, chose to solve “People Ruin Everything.” This scenario explored the effects of introducing humans to an established predator-prey system.
- Xavier Gottlieb-Young, a sophomore majoring in mathematics with minors in physics and data science
- Sharan Majumder, a sophomore majoring in mathematics and computer science
- Townsend Porcher, a senior majoring in mathematics
The students received preliminary guidance from coach Tracy Stepien, assistant professor of mathematics, as well as mathematics graduate students David Burrell, Gillian Carr, and Phoebe Ferguson.
The event, SCUDEM VII 2022 (SIMIODE Challenge Using Differential Equations), for high school and undergraduate students was sponsored by SIMIODE – Systemic Initiative for Modeling Investigations and Opportunities with Differential Equations, a 501(c)3 Nonprofit organization, funded in part by the National Science Foundation in the United States. Anyone interested in modeling with mathematics, specifically with the STEM pivotal material known as differential equations, can join SIMIODE free at: https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/simiode.
