The Modeling the Future Challenge, or MTFC, is a research competition dedicated to education related to the actuarial sciences. The competition challenges students to research and evaluate the risk associated with one topic of their choice. From there, students are tasked with assessing risk, and developing a risk mitigation strategy, as a suggestion for forward action. Considering that our team advanced to the Project Phase, I will be working with Isha, Kruthi, Charuvi, and Abi to assess, quantify, and mitigate the risk of medical malpractice among patients of color. The issue of race-based bias in the medical industry has vast negative repercussions, impacting society both on an individual and organizational level. Our goal is to gather existing data sources to assess the risk based on several societal factors, including race, income, accessibility to healthcare, and more. To read more about the work we’ve done so far regarding our project, click here. This document includes a problem set relating to the risks of climate-induced damage to ski resorts, with our corresponding project plans being detailed in each green section.

The Problem of the Week, or POW, is a short-term collaborative effort to mathematically solve a problem or develop a solution to a need. In the Happy Birthday POW, I worked with Lindsey, Cecilia, and Nick, and we were tasked with finding the day of the week that someone was born on, anytime from 1901 to 2100. The challenging aspect of this task was that we weren’t allowed devices or calendars, meaning that our assumptions or hypotheses had to be supported mathematically rather than verified with our modern resources. I found this problem to be really interesting, but more challenging than I had expected because of the many variables that need to be taken into consideration, such as leap years and constantly cycling days, weeks, months and years. Once our algorithm was developed, we created a write-up about our process and the methods we developed to find the day of the week that anyone was born on. You can try to calculate your birthday day by reading the write-up here.

HiMCM, or the High School Mathematical Modeling Challenge, is a competition we completed during November of 2023 in which we have three days to approach a problem using mathematical modeling strategies and tools. In our project, we analyzed the financial and ecological consequences of adopting an all-electric bus fleet in various major cities across the globe. Using stats-based thinking and models developed through determining relationships in our contextual research, we wrote a 25-page report detailing these consequences. I worked with Isha Nagireddy, Abhikhya Sonti, and Shivani Gupta, and we were designated Meritorious, meaning that we were invited to participate in the International Mathematical Modeling Challenge (IMMC) to complete a similar challenge at the international level (top 15%). Overall, this experience was a great way for us to find innovative ways to approach a very complex, multi-faceted topic. To read our final paper, click here.