Every five seconds, Americans use 60,000 plastic bags and consume 2,000 bottled drinks (SIERRA), an ecological concern on many minds, including thousands of high school juniors and seniors—5,809 across 29 states—who spent last weekend devising methods to quantify and manage this waste.

1.
FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
PAPER
OR
PLASTIC?
Moody's
Mega
Math
Challenge
checks
in
on
U.S.
Recycling
PHILADELPHIA,
March
6,
2013
—
Every
five
seconds,
Americans
use
60,000
plastic
bags
and
consume
2,000
bottled
drinks
(SIERRA),
an
ecological
concern
on
many
minds,
including
thousands
of
high
school
juniors
and
seniors—5,809
across
29
states—who
spent
last
weekend
devising
methods
to
quantify
and
manage
this
waste.
The
impetus
for
this
high-­‐minded
task
is
Moody’s
Mega
Math
Challenge,
an
Internet-­‐based
applied
math
contest
organized
by
the
Pennsylvania-­‐based
Society
for
Industrial
and
Applied
Mathematics
(SIAM).
The
goal:
to
spotlight
the
relevancy
and
power
of
mathematics
in
solving
real-­‐world
issues
and
inspire
students
to
pursue
careers
in
STEM-­‐related
fields.
The
contest’s
topic
is
especially
relevant
this
year
as
2013
has
been
designated
the
International
Year
of
Mathematics
of
Planet
Earth
(MPE).
As
part
of
the
MPE
initiative,
more
than
100
scientific
societies,
universities,
research
institutes,
and
organizations
worldwide
have
joined
forces
to
identify
and
solve
fundamental
questions
about
planet
Earth,
encourage
educators
to
communicate
the
issues
related
to
it,
and
inform
the
public
about
the
essential
role
of
the
mathematical
sciences
in
facing
the
challenges
to
our
planet.
The
Mega
Math
Challenge
is
Moody’s
version
of
“think
globally,
act
locally.”
During
Challenge
weekend,
students
were
given
just
14
hours
to
work
in
teams
of
3-­‐5
to
solve
the
problem.
Each
group
had
to
quantify
the
plastic
waste
filling
our
nation’s
landfills,
come
up
with
the
best
recycling
methods
for
U.S.
cities
to
implement
based
on
their
demographics,
and
recommend
guidelines
for
nationwide
recycling
standards.
Between
now
and
April
8,
judges
will
analyze
each
entry,
seeking
inventive
problem-­‐solving
approaches
and
perspectives
using
mathematical
tools.
The
top
six
teams
will
be
invited
to
Moody’s
corporate
headquarters
in
Manhattan
on
April
29
to
present
and
defend
their
solutions
to
a
live
panel
of
professional
applied
mathematician
judges.
Another
49
teams
will
be
designated
as
semi-­‐finalists
or
honorable
mentions.
For
Challenge
participants,
more
than
the
fate
of
the
country’s
environmental
state
is
at
stake;
$115,000
in
scholarship
prizes
will
be
presented
to
winning
teams
by
the
Challenge
sponsor,
The
Moody’s
Foundation.
“We
see
the
Challenge
as
a
great
way
to
make
math
and
science
relevant
and
engaging,”
said
Michelle
Montgomery,
M3
Challenge
Project
Director
for
SIAM.
“Like
the
TBS
hits
Big
Bang
Theory
and
King
of
the
Nerds,
the
Challenge
shows
it’s
cool
to
have
math
and
science
smarts
or

2. be
a
self-­‐proclaimed
“nerd,”
and
truly
captures
the
spirit
and
depth
of
applied
mathematics.”
When
the
Challenge
launched
in
2006,
high
school
participation
was
limited
to
the
New
York
Metropolitan
Area.
Today,
29 states are
eligible,
and
Moody's
anticipates
expanding
to
a
national
footprint
by
2016.
This
year,
New
York
and
New
Jersey
were
the
states
with
the
most
teams
registered
(164
and
141,
respectively),
while
Florida
had
124
participating
teams and PA
had 99.
Of
the
1,279
teams
registered
(from
public
and
private
schools),
3,881
of
the
students
are male
and
1,928
female.
Overcoming
this
gender
gap,
and
compelling
more
young women
to
pursue
math-based
careers,
is
one
of
Moody's,
SIAM’s
—and the Challenge's—greater
goals.
Media
Inquiries:
Kim
Ettinger
(610)
952-­‐5623,
kim@wardenettingergroup.com
Dawn
Warden-­‐Reeder
(267)
250-­‐8005,
dawn@wardenettingergroup.com
###