Each year, the Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM)® and the Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM)® challenge students worldwide to apply math creatively and collaboratively. The 2025 competitions were no exception.

This year, over 27,000 teams participated from around the world. That’s more than 80,000 students across all of the teams coming together to problem-solve across disciplines.

Over a few intense days, January 23-27, 2025, teams of undergrads (and even some middle school and high school students) took on open-ended problems pulled straight from the real world. Problems like analyzing stair wear to trace patterns of human behavior, modeling how land use shifts when forests become farmland, and predicting Olympic medal counts based on historical data and national trends. The papers they submitted weren’t just technically impressive; they showed a real dedication to tackling problems that matter.

2025 MCM/ICM Problems

Here’s a quick look at the full list of problems teams were able to choose from this year:

• Problem A (MCM): Students developed a mathematical model to help archaeologists analyze stair wear patterns and uncover historical usage, travel direction, and daily activity, without damaging the structure.
• Problem B (MCM): Teams built a model to balance sustainable tourism in Juneau, Alaska, weighing economic benefits against environmental and social impacts, and offering adaptable solutions for other overvisited destinations.
• Problem C (MCM): Using historical data, students created a predictive model for 2028 Olympic medal counts, exploring event types, home country advantages, and how first-time medal wins might happen.
• Problem D (ICM): Students created a transportation network model for Baltimore and proposed data-driven projects to improve transit challenges, tailored for presentation to the city’s mayor.
• Problem E (ICM): Teams modeled how both human activity and natural forces impact land use over time, using their insights to advise a farmer managing former forest land now used for agriculture.
• Problem F (ICM): Students analyzed global cybersecurity policies to identify patterns of effectiveness, then used their findings to guide national leaders on building stronger, context-aware security strategies.

2025 MCM/ICM Results

At the end of the contest, 43 papers received an Outstanding recognition, representing the highest level of achievement across all submissions. 

The Outstanding designation is reserved for the “best of the best,” the top papers selected in the final round of judging. These teams demonstrated excellence not only in technical modeling and analysis but also in their ability to work as a team and write compelling, well-structured reports. 

Here are the 2025 MCM/ICM Outstanding winners.

MCM Problem A Outstanding Winners

• 2500836 Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China
• 2501567 Zhejiang University, China — AMS Award
• 2501909 Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China — Ben Fusaro Award
• 2504218 Harbin Institute of Technology, Weihai, China — INFORMS Award
• 2511565 Fudan University, China — COMAP Scholarship Award & SIAM Award

MCM Problem B Outstanding Winners

• 2501687 Peking University, China — COMAP Scholarship Award
• 2502617 Central University of Finance and Economics, China — INFORMS Award
• 2503268 Shanghai Tech University, China — AMS Award
• 2504448 Rice University, TX, USA — MAA Award
• 2505199 Nanjing University of Science and Technology, China
• 2509557 Zhejiang University, China — SIAM Award
• 2517929 University of science and technology Beijing, China
  

MCM Problem C Outstanding Winners

• 2500759 Anhui Normal University, China
• 2501869 Jinan University, China
• 2503389 Sichuan University, China
• 2505964 Nanjing University of Science and Technology, China
• 2507817 China Three Gorges University, China
• 2510006 Southern University of Science and Technology, China
• 2510185 Chongqing University, China
• 2510862 Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, China — AMS Award & SIAM Award
• 2513314 Xi'an Jiaotong University, China — COMAP Scholarship Award
• 2514362 National University of Defense Technology, China — ASA Award
• 2514461 Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
• 2515235 Northeastern University, China
• 2516178 Xiamen University, China
• 2516695 China University of Petroleum-Beijing at Karamay, China
• 2517690 Zhengzhou University, China
• 2521556 Xi'an Jiaotong University, China
• 2522820 Stuyvesant High School, NY, USA — MAA Award
• 2524070 Nanjing Agricultural University, China

ICM Problem D Outstanding Winners

• 2504188 Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, China — INFORMS Award
• 2507692 BNU-HKBU United International College, China — AMS Award
• 2516219 National University of Defense Technology, China — COMAP Scholarship Award & SIAM Award
• 2519935 Hangzhou Dianzi University, China — Leonhard Euler Award

ICM Problem E Outstanding Winners

• 2502355 Wuhan University, China — INFORMS Award
• 2508861 China University of Labor Relations, China — SIAM Award
• 2515136 University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, China — COMAP Scholarship Award & Rachel Carson Award
• 2517273 South China Agriculture University, China — AMS Award
  

ICM Problem F Outstanding Winners

• 2504223 Xi'an University of Technology, China — AMS Award
• 2507789 University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, China — COMAP Scholarship Award & Vilfredo Pareto Award
• 2513705 Beijing Normal University, China — INFORMS Award
• 2517199 University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, China
• 2521039 China Agricultural University, China — SIAM Award
  

To all of the students, advisors, and institutions that participated in this year’s contest, thank you. Your creativity and commitment continue to push the boundaries of what math can do.

See the full list of results and designations here.