Scholarship Encourages Students To Pursue Careers In Applied Math
By Kim Glovas
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - This weekend, a competition is underway among high schools across the country, including some from Philadelphia on how to use math to solve everyday challenges. This year's challenge: using math to address recycling issues.
Nearly 6,000 students from 29 states took part in the Moody's Mega Math Challenge. The contest is organized by the Pennsylvania Society for Industrial and Applied Math, or SIAM.
Spokeswoman Michelle Montgomery says, "Moody's original goal, the Moody's corporation and the Moody's Foundation, was to motivate kids to study and pursue careers in applied mathematics, computational science, economics and finance."
The contest has been held each year since 2005. This year's problem was to come up with the best way to recycle depending on that city's demographics. At stake is $115,000 in scholarship money. Among local schools taking part: Masterman, Mastery Charter and Franklin Towne Charter School.
