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'''Moody's Mega Math (M³) Challenge''' is an [[applied mathematics]] modeling contest open to high schools acrossalong the Unitedentire StatesEast (includingCoast, USfrom territoriesMaine andto DoDEA schools)Florida. It is sponsored by The [[Moody's Foundation]] (a charity of [[Moody's]] rating agency) based in [[New York City]] and organized by the [[Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics]] (SIAM) based in [[Philadelphia]]. The M³ Challenge awards $150115,000 in scholarship prizes each year to the top teams. An additional incentive is the recognition that the winning teams receive. The winning paper from 2008 was published in the [[College Mathematics Journal]] and a representative from High Tech's team appeared on [[FOX Business Channel]], 2010 winners were interviewed by Pimm Fox of Bloomberg radio, presented its findings at Lockheed Martin's Data Capture Center, met with U.S. Census Bureau Director Dr. Robert Groves, and had their research published in SIAM's prestigious undergraduate publication, SIAM Undergraduate Research Online (SIURO), the 2011 and 2012 winners were interviewed by Pimm Fox of Bloomberg radio, and the 2014 winners were interviewed by both Pimm Fox and Carol Massar on Bloomberg radio.
==Registration Process==
Registration is open to high school juniorsjunior and seniorssenior in eligible areas as well as to homeschooled and cyber schooled students. Teams consist of three to five students and one coach, who must be a teacher at their school. Each school can have a maximum of two teams. There is no cost to register or participate in the Challenge.
==Eligibility==
High schools in the following states/district are eligible for the M³ Challenge:<br />
* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* US Territories
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* Washington D.C.
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming
==Challenge Weekend==
The M³ Challenge is held annually on a Saturday and Sunday in late February or March. Students choose which day they wish to work. Students also choose what time to work thanks to flexible work time. All teams will work in or convert their local time to Eastern Standard Time andTeams download the problem anytimefrom overthe Challenge weekendwebsite toat begin7:00 their consecutive 14 hours of worka.m. Once the problem is downloaded, the clock starts and itmust cannotupload betheir paused;solution studentspaper shouldby download9:00 thep.m. problemthat withsame at least 14 hours before the firm end of Challenge weekend to have use of the full 14 hours allowedday. They can work from any ___location they choose.
==The Problem==
ProfessionalTwo professional Ph.D.-level applied mathematicians write the Challenge problem. Students have no knowledge of the problem before they download it on their selected Challenge weekendday. To solve the problem, they are allowed to use any inanimate, free, and publicly available sources. They cannot have any outside help from anyone, including their teacher-coach. A helpful discussion forum leading up to the problem release, a monthly dialog, can be found [https://m3challenge.siam.org/monthly-dialogue/ here]. Below are previous problems:
'''2006 Problem -''' ''Solving the Social Security Stalemate''<br />
'''2013 Problem -''' ''Waste Not, Want Not: Putting Recyclables in Their Place''
'''2014 Problem -''' ''Lunch Crunch: Can Nutritious Be Affordable and Delicious?''
'''2015 Problem -''' ''Stem Sells: What is Higher Education Really Worth?''
==Judging==
Ph.D.-level applied mathematicians judge the contest in three phases. In triage, each paper is read through at least two times before being eliminated or passed on to the second round. The triage round of judging eliminates two-thirds or more of the submitted papers. In the second round of judging, papers are read up to an additional 128-10 times each, and the top papers emerge. The top six will go on to the presentation round of judging while up to 8540 remaining papers receive honorable mention team awards. Judging is blind until the presentation round, with teams known only by a unique team ID number. The presentation round is held at the Moody’s corporate headquarters in the World Trade Center on Wall Street where the teams present their papers to a panel of judges. Following the presentations, judges rank the teams and a formal award ceremony takes place.
==Prizes==
* M³ Challenge Runner Up (Magna Cum Laude Team Prize) = $15,000
* M³ Challenge Third Place (Cum Laude Team Prize) = $10,000
* M<sup>3</sup> ³ Challenge FinalistFourth Place (Meritorious Team Prize) = $57,000 (3 teams)500
* M³ Challenge Fifth Place (Exemplary Team Prize) = $5,000
* Semi-finalist Team Prizes = $1,500 (Judges have the option of awarding up to $90,000 between the Semi-finalist and Honorable Mention prizes.<ref> http://m3challenge.siam.org/participate/ </ref>) ▼* M³ Challenge Sixth Place (First Honorable Mention Team Prize) = $2,500
▲* Semi-finalist Team Prizes = $1,500 (Judges have the option of awarding up to $ 9055,000 between the Semi-finalist and Honorable Mention prizes.<ref> http://m3challenge.siam.org/participate/ </ref>)
* Honorable Mention Team Prizes = $1,000
* Prizes of $500 each will be made to all finalist teams’ coaches, and paid at their discretion to a department, club or activity within the school district
==Awards and Recognition for the M³ Challenge==
* SIAM received an Award of Excellence in the first round of the 2009 Associations Advance America (AAA) Awards program for its role in organizing and administering Moody's Mega Math Challenge <ref> http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/sfia-swa030609.php </ref> <ref> http://www.asaecenter.org/AboutUs/newsreldetail.cfm?ItemNumber=39715 </ref>
* Moody's Corporation received a 2008 Excellence Award from the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP)for the company's sophisticated giving program which encourages students to develop a passion for mathematics, economics and finance, and specifically citing Moody's Mega Math Challenge which aims to excite students about employing mathematics to solve real world problems. <ref> http://www.onphilanthropy.com/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7415&s_oo=Iqcbehmy0Q50SXvxb7s3iA </ref> <ref> http://www.csrwire.com/News/11181.html </ref> <ref> http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/25/cecp-philanthropy-awards-leadership-citizen-cx_mk_0225cecp.html </ref>
* M<sup>3</sup> Challenge received placement on the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ National Advisory List of Student Contests & Activities since 2010<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://www.nassp.org/Content/158/NASSP_List_of_Contests_and_Activities_for_Students.pdf|title = 2015-16 NASSP List of Approved Contests, Programs, and Activities for Students|last = |first = |date = September 1, 2015 — August 31, 2016|journal = National Association of Secondary School Principals|doi = |pmid = |access-date = }}</ref>
== Resources ==
Here are some helpful resources:
* [https://m3challenge.siam.org/sites/default/files/uploads/siam-guidebook-final-press.pdf Math modeling handbook]
* A "how-to" video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgKwtwZbW20 About M3 Challenge]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhD-bLLLRxY Tenth Anniversary Video]
==[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhD-bLLLRxY References]==
<references />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhD-bLLLRxY htt][http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/alice-korngold/leading-companies-good/moodyrsquos-mega-math-challenge-wall-streetrsquos-strateg p://www.fastcompany.com/blog/alice-korngold/leading-companies-good/moodyrsquos-mega-math-challenge-wall-streetrsquos-strateg]
* http://mathforum.org/electronic.newsletter/mf.intnews13.4.html
* http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804E5D6153FF930A15757C0A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
==External links==
* [http://m3challenge.siam.org/ http://m3challenge.siam.org]
*
[[Category:Mathematics competitions]]
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