Participating as three teams, seven Utah Tech University students earned awards in the SIMIODE Challenge Using Differential Equations Modeling 2022, an international mathematical modeling competition.
Utah Tech students Damen Maughan, who competed on his own, as well as the team of Abigale Virto, Erin Bunch and Brooklyn Price-Thompson earned top honors, the Outstanding Award. Only 27 teams in the entire competition received this award. Additionally, Jacob Atkinson, Victoria Smith and Zachary Babcock formed a team and earned the Meritorious Award. All UT winners were in Associate Professor of Mathematics Vinodh Kumar Chellamuthu’s Mathematical Modeling class at Utah Tech University.
As part of the competition, a challenge is presented and participating students create a mathematical model and prepare a 10-minute video presentation on YouTube to solve the problem. From all over the world, 327 students sent in their solutions to an open-ended problem, which were reviewed by five judges worldwide.
Utah Tech University is a premier open-enrollment teaching institution that offers more than 250 academic programs at one of the lowest tuition costs in the Western United States. The University was built upon a rich tradition of determination and generosity that is still embraced by the campus community today. With the motto “active learning. active life.” Utah Tech provides personalized and engaged learning experiences that prepare students for rewarding careers and enriched lives. Outside of the classroom, students have the opportunity to enjoy the unparalleled opportunities for an active life that accompany UT’s location in beautiful Southern Utah.