Westford's Math Whizzes Compete in Moody’s Mega Math (M3) Challenge

WESTFORD, MA – A combination of math smarts and creative thinking by four Westford high school students has added up to a top spot in a major national math competition.

The Westford Academy Students – Nihar Sheth, Harshal Sheth, Kartik Singh and Adithya Vellal – have advanced to the finals in the popular Moody’s Mega Math (M3) Challenge, the only competition of its kind which this year drew more than 5,100 11th and 12th grade participants from across the nation.

The Westford team will head to New York City on April 24 to compete against five other finalist teams at Moody’s Corporation World Trade Center headquarters.

Using mathematical modeling, the students had 14 hours in late February to come up with a solution to a real-world issue – helping the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) devise a plan for future growth and sustainability in spite of global change factors expected to affect both resources and visits at its 417 national sites country wide.

More than 1,100 participating teams from across the U.S. submitted papers detailing their recommended solutions.

"The National Park Service is privileged to work with the high school mathematicians in Moody's Mega Math Challenge,” said Dr. Rebecca Beavers, Coastal Geology and Adaptation Coordinator at NPS. “These bright young minds hold the keys to innovative solutions for many environmental concerns, including climate change."

Organized by Philadelphia-based Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and sponsored by The Moody’s Foundation, the M3Challenge – now in its 12th year – spotlights applied mathematics as a powerful problem-solving tool and motivates students to consider further education and careers in math and science.

Approximately 90 scholarship prizes totaling $150,000 are up for grabs, with the champion team receiving $20,000.

In addition to Westford Academy, the five other finalist teams hail from high schools in Alpharetta, Georgia; Durham, North Carolina; Lincolnshire, Illinois; Lincroft, New Jersey; and Silver Spring, Maryland.

“While many mathematics competitions have students work individually to solve rigorous ‘pure’ mathematical problems, Moody’s Mega Math Challenge gives students the opportunity to collaborate with others to solve problems in which they must apply their mathematical knowledge to new and unique real world situations,” said Lisa Gartner, a math teacher at Westford Academy who coached the school’s students in preparation for the 14-hour challenge.

“The fact that students can potentially earn college scholarship money as a result of their efforts is an added bonus,'' Gartner said.

For team member Harshal Sheth, placing as a finalist in the M3 Challenge opened his eyes to the possibilities of math.

"The M3 Challenge provided my teammates and me a rare opportunity to use our math and problem-solving skills in a real world application,” he said. “I found it exhilarating to work together as a team to produce practical, model-based analyses and forecasts within the short span of 14 hours."

According to Arlene Isaacs-Lowe, President of The Moody’s Foundation, M3 Challenge winners and finalists have gone on to excel at both college and career. “We are at a critical moment in history where there is a very real international need for our youth to pursue careers in STEM-related fields so we can sufficiently fill an increased number of jobs coming down the pike in this field,” Isaacs-Lowe said. “M3 Challenge increases that interest in the US in a fun, unique and exciting way.”

For more information about the M3 Challenge, visit m3challenge.siam.org . To access this year’s challenge problem, visit https://m3challenge.siam.org/practice-problems/2017-challenge-problem-sea-shining-sea-looking-ahead-national-park-service.