Every February the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications conducts a world-wide competition in applied mathematics. This competition begins with the posting of two real-world word problems to an official website. Then, over the next four days, teams of two or three students at schools around the world select a problem, develop a solution, and type up a fully cited research paper detailing their solution. These papers are then submitted by the team advisors to a judging committee for review.

In 2005, five Albion College students formed two teams and respectively tackled two challenging problems. The first addressed the failure of the Rawls Creek dam in South Carolina and the resulting impact of the flood waters, while the second problem dealt with the problem of determining the optimal number of tollbooths to deploy in a barrier-toll plaza. During this talk, representatives from both teams will discuss the ups and downs of team-based mathematical modeling, including presentation of their solutions and anecdotes relating their experiences during this grueling competition.