For the third time in the last four years, a team of University of Colorado at Boulder undergraduates was named an Outstanding Winner in the prestigious Mathematical-Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling sponsored by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications.
The team, consisting of applied mathematics majors Darin Gillis and Aaron Windfield, along with electrical engineering major David Lindstone, was one of only 16 Outstanding Winners among 638 teams from nine countries participating in the 2003 contest.
The contest was held over a four-day period in February, during which the teams worked on one of three open-ended, applied problems, formulating a mathematical model with which to analyze it, drawing conclusions and submitting a written report. The CU-Boulder team was recognized for finding an optimal strategy for treating brain cancer using Gamma Knife radio surgery.
A second CU-Boulder team received a Meritorious award on the same problem, while a third team from CU-Boulder received an Honorable Mention for its solution to a problem about the purchase and optimal placement of baggage screening machines at airports.
CU-Boulder teams also were named Outstanding Winners in the 2002 and 2000 contests.
"Our students have consistently done well in these competitions, which is a testament both to our great students and their strong academic programs," said Anne Dougherty, associate chair of the department of applied mathematics. "I want to congratulate all of our participants for a fantastic job."