The results of 2022 Mathematical Contest in Modeling and Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (MCM/ICM) have been recently announced. A team of 3 undergraduate students of 2020, i.e., Zhang Shengjia, Huang Wenxuan and Yang Chengxi, from the School of Big Data and Software Engineering (Associate Professor Xu Jianwen acted as the supervisor) participated on behalf of Chongqing University, and claimed the Outstanding Winner (with award rate of 0.14%) and the Frank Giordano Award. Winners of the Frank Giordano Award are selected by COMAP out of papers of international Outstanding Winners, and must be teams with outstanding performance in paper in the MCM. It is reported that among the Outstanding Winner teams, the team from Chongqing University is the only one that claimed the Frank Giordano Award.

The 2022 MCM/ICM was being held by virtual means from February 18 to 22, and lasted for 4 days. The 2022 MCM/ICM was attended by more than 20,000 teams from over 1,000 colleges and universities across the world. Participating teams were required to pick from 6 topics, i.e., Topics A, B, C, D, E and F, and write a paper. The team of Zhang Shengjia, Yang Chengxi and Huang Wenxuan picked Topic B, Water and Hydroelectric Power Sharing, and wrote a paper under the title Reservoir Management: The Art of Proper Allocation. In this paper, the difference equation and planning method were applied to the scheduling of water resources of Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam in the United States. The model was applied to solve practical problems, and the scheduling suggestions were given according to the simulation results, taking into account the actual situation.

Having learned they were given the Outstanding Winner, Yang Chengxi said that by participating in the Contest, he gained deeper insights into the difference between basic mathematics and applied mathematics, and understood the importance of basic mathematics theory to applied mathematics, and that he became even more interested in basic mathematics and applied mathematics research. Zhang Shengjia, the team leader, said that this experience further increased his theoretical knowledge, improved his ability to solve problems in practice and enhanced his teamwork skills and writing skills. Despite the pressing schedule and difficult topics, the three team members managed to work together in a well-coordinated manner, and each played an important role in winning the honor.

MCM/ICM is an international mathematic modeling contest of the highest level hosted by the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Application. It is also the most influential mathematic modeling contest across the world. MCM/ICM covers a wide range of topics, including economic, management, environment, resources, ecology, medicine and safety. Each participating team consists of 3 members, and they are required to build up a model, solve the problem, validate the model and write a paper on a given topic within only 4 days, as a way to demonstrate their ability to study into a problem, work out a solution and work together with others as a team.