11:06am on February 10, 2009International Mathematics Competition HiMCM (COMAP)

International Mathematics Competition HiMCM (COMAP)    

   Mathematics teams from two St. Lawrence County Schools, Madrid-Waddington Central School and Ogdensburg City School, successfully competed in the international mathematics competition HiMCM (High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling).   This competition is sponsored each year by COMAP, Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications.   It is a highly rigorous 36 hour competition in which teams work on a real-world problem that requires high level mathematical problem solving skills as well as communication and organization skills.

This year’s competition consisted of 269 teams of up to four students each. The National Outstanding Winners included The Hong Kong International School and The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.  The team representing Madrid-Waddington Central School was recognized as an Honorable Mention Winner.  Their team consisting of members Steven Morgan, James Lavieri, Kim Gates, and Mark Ruddy was coached by teachers Troy Creurer and Sandra Ruddy.

   The local involvement in this particular contest (through the St. Lawrence STEM Partnership) is under the guidance of Professor Kathleen Fowler of Clarkson’s Mathematics Department. The STEM Partnership which is a partnership between SLL BOCES and Clarkson University makes this competition as well as many other Mathematics and Science initiatives available to its 18 school districts in St Lawrence and Lewis Counties.  “This competition is a tremendous opportunity for area high school students to compete with the best students throughout the world on real world problems using their mathematical problem solving skills.  Madrid-Waddington’s success is quite remarkable considering the level of competition, and especially for a first-time participant.  It is very rewarding to see this level of participation by our area high school students as part of the STEM Partnership”, said Peter Turner, Clarkson University Interim Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and Chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Departments.