Flint Hill School Students Compete As Finalists In Prestigious Math Competition

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — For 14 consecutive hours, a group of students from Flint Hill School in Oakton worked out a math solution to real-world problems. Their math smarts and creative solution earned the students a place in the finals of the prestigious MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge (M3 Challenge).

Flint Hill School students Jack Dunn, Kevin Harvey, Billy Ho, Divya Kudva and Neev Patel and coach Elizabeth Van Lieshout are among nine finalist teams in the international math competition. The final round of judging with a panel of professional mathematicians will happen on April 28 in New York City. Finalist teams are competing for a share of $100,000 in scholarships. The top team will receive $20,000.

Kudva, one of the team members, said that the collaborative process made the competition meaningful.

"Working on M3 Challenge with my teammates was an incredibly rewarding experience," said Kudva. "Whether it was brainstorming ideas, coding the models, or articulating our results, the biggest factor that made this competition enthralling was our ability to collaborate in problem-solving."

More than 3,600 11th and 12th graders in the U.S. and sixth form students in the United Kingdom entered the M3 Challenge. Teams had to compete in two rounds of assessment with judging before making the finals.

The M3 Challenge involves using mathematical modeling to solve real-world questions. This year's problem centered around extreme heat and power grid failures, which local and federal governments are trying to solve. Students were challenged with determining how to predict indoor temperatures of non-air conditioned buildings during a heat wave, how much demand a power grid should be prepared to handle during summer months, will demand change over time and if cities can minimize impacts of heat waves or power grid failures.

"In many locations, air conditioning is not a luxury, but a necessity, since heat stress can exacerbate underlying illnesses in vulnerable populations," said Dr. Karen Bliss, senior manager of education and outreach at Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. "Unfortunately, mass use of air conditioning puts a strain on the electrical grid and resulting power outages can be devastating. Cities and rural areas alike will benefit from having plans in place for managing energy demands and caring for citizens who need support during heat waves."

For the Flint Hill School students, their preparation began in the fall with attending mathematics teacher Elizabeth Van Lieshout's office hours to evaluate different data analysis techniques.
"Their enthusiasm and energy sparked interest from others, drawing more students to participate," said Van Lieshout. "They honed their skills through practice and explored concepts well beyond the typical math curriculum to bring impressive mathematical abilities to the team. However, it was their collaboration that truly fueled the synergy, creativity, and impact of their ideas."

Other finalist teams come from Durham, North Carolina; Houston, Texas; Mason, Ohio; Rye, New York; Winter Park, Florida; Zionsville, Indiana; and Winchester, Hampshire and Borehamwood, Hertfordshire in the UK.

The M3 Challenge, led by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, is in its 20th year and is sponsored by MathWorks. By challenging students to solve real-world problems with math, the program aims to motivate students to further their education and careers in applied math, computational and data sciences, and technical computing.