Philly-Based Math Challenge In Need Of New Sponsor

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia-based Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics offers a unique math competition to young people across the United states, but its sponsor pulled out and the society is in need of a new sponsor.

According to Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), the Moody's Foundation pulled its sponsorship after 12 years and the society is seeking and exceptional partner that eager to contribute to SIAM's Math Modeling Challenge.

"Since its inception in 2005, the Moody’s Mega Math Challenge has drawn the participation of more than 37,000 students, 4,000 high schools, 5,000 teachers and 400 Ph.D.-level judges, and has awarded more than $1.2 million in scholarships," the society said in a press release.

“SIAM is excited and energized by the prospect of welcoming a new named sponsor and has initiated a competitive process to identify a partner with whom we will transition the Challenge for the future,” said Michelle Montgomery, Challenge Project Director at SIAM.

“The Moody’s Foundation is very proud of the impact the program has had on thousands of high school students over the last 12 years, and we wish SIAM continued success in its educational mission,” said Arlene Isaacs-Lowe, President of The Moody’s Foundation.

The society will manage the search for a new sponsor, beginning with a request for proposals, to be submitted by Sept. 6, 2017. Request for proposals are available online here.

Potential sponsors should visit the site to learn more, and let SIAM know of their interest. The new sponsor is being asked to commit at least $1.2 million annually for a minimum initial sponsorship term of three years, Montgomery said.

The Challenge is strategically aligned with tech and computationally-based organizations, and those with an investment in STEM-related topics and technologies, Montgomery said in the release.

“The sponsor can also look forward to programs and strategies to increase its own access to top talent, and enhance employee engagement,” Montgomery said. She went on to say the Challenge has seen hundreds of students annually distinguished with prizes for outstanding work after being rigorously vetted by professional computational scientists and have subsequently been invited to apply for internships and jobs at the sponsor organization.

Focused on educating American youth on the importance of math in everyday life, the Math Modeling Challenge motivates and encourages high school students to study and pursue careers in applied math and computational sciences. Providing a unique and valuable 14-hour experience over one weekend in spring, students work in small teams and use what they have learned in the classroom to solve real-world issues. They are challenged to apply their skills and creative thinking to answer broad, open-ended questions using math modeling strategies. This all takes place online and under strict time constraints akin to those found in business, industry or government settings.

Over the past 12 years, modeling problems have included predicting rates of climate change, identifying the efficacy of biofuels and the effects of their use on world hunger, proposing the best U.S. regions for high speed rail construction, and ensuring that the national social security system remains solvent, among other complex problems. The Challenge most recently partnered with the US National Parks Foundation on the 2017 Challenge problem, and looks forward to working with its next sponsor “to identify other partners with interesting, big, messy problems for high school students to sink their teeth into,” Montgomery said.

The Challenge currently registers about 1,500 teams per year comprised of more than 6,000 high school juniors and seniors, from which 90 teams are distinguished with monetary prizes. Six of those teams are brought together for a live final event that features team presentations, a reception and an awards ceremony, among other events and activities.

The new sponsor will assume title sponsorship starting in October 2017.

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