Participation in an intensive, online math competition has added up to a first-place win for a group of New Jersey high school students.
The team of five 11th and 12th graders from Edison Academy Magnet School took home the top award of $20,000 in college scholarships, out of a total of more than $100,000 awarded, after being chosen as winners during the final event in New York City on April 27. Thousands of high school juniors and seniors across the U.S. and sixth form students in the U.K. vied for distinction in this year’s MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge (M3 Challenge), a prestigious international competition that demonstrates the importance of math in everyday life.
Winners Sreethan Gangavarapu, Ashwath Ram, Vedaswaroop Kunamneni, Ishan Nagpal, and Alexander Poon were among more than 3,430 students working in 770 teams who participated this year.
Now in its 21st year, M3 Challenge 2026 had students spend 14 consecutive hours in late February and early March using mathematical modeling to solve a real-world problem by analyzing data, creating models, developing insight, and submitting their solutions online. Students were asked to assess the personal, societal, and financial effects of online and mobile sports gambling, which has exploded in popularity across the U.S. and U.K. over the past decade. Nine finalist teams were selected from the U.S., England, and Wales, after having their submissions judged by an international panel of expert mathematicians.
A program of Philadelphia-based Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and sponsored by MathWorks, the leading developer of mathematical computing software for engineers and scientists, M3 Challenge is designed to spotlight the relevancy and power of mathematics in solving real-world issues, as well as motivate students to consider further education and careers in applied mathematics, computational and data sciences, and technical computing.
“What sets M3 Challenge apart from other math competitions is that it requires students to use math and data to represent, analyze, make predictions, and provide insight into current phenomena,” said Grace Murrin, SIAM Program Manager. “We pose big problems about real issues that many students may not know much about. They need to research, quantify parameters, organize data, and apply math skills they’ve learned in class but may have never related to something real.”
Murrin explained that the international nature of the competition gives added prestige for the winning teams. “Every year without fail, we hear from participating students who refer to their participation in M3 Challenge as a life-changing experience that helped open their eyes to how important, useful, and valuable the application of mathematics can be,” she said.
Runners-up in the competition are students from Arizona College Prep High School in Chandler, AZ—Rishi Malatkar, Vishnu Tailor, Akil Gopinath, and Varun Sunku— who split a $15,000 scholarship award. Third place winners are students from American Heritage Schools, Palm Beach Campus in Delray Beach, FL —Joseph Levenston, Rishan Thangaraj, Rayan Kha, David Zapata, and Siyuan Du— who shared $10,000 in scholarship funds. Finalist teams from Lake Ridge Academy, in North Ridgeville, OH; Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA; and Liberty High School in Frisco, TX received team scholarship awards of $5,000 each. (See full list of winners.)
Winners were announced after a rigorous eight-week, three-round blind judging process involving 120 professional applied mathematicians.
Additional team recognition and scholarships include: Technical Computing Winner ($3,000) to Colchester Royal Grammar School in Colchester, Essex, U.K. (Gyula Rabai, Stanislaw Wancerski, Diart Olluri, and Calvin Vu); Technical Computing Runner-up ($2,000) to Haberdashers’ Elstree Schools in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, U.K. (Aarav Rajput, Arav Mathur, Aarav Shah, Anika Gupte, and Sofia Rusche); and Technical Computing Third Place ($1,000) to Stuyvesant High School in New York, NY (Andrew Zhang, Cyrus Yau, Daniel Li, Katie Wong, and Jayden Kim). These awards recognize and reward students for their outstanding use of programming to analyze, design, and conceive a solution.
The Outstanding Communication of Results award of $500 was given to the team from Frisco, Texas-based Liberty High School in recognition of the exemplary explanation of their work, using clarity, presence, and polish in their live presentation.
Teams from Title 1 eligible schools were considered for SPARK Awards, which recognize teams that develop Solutions with Passion, Resourcefulness, and Knowledge. Summit Senior High School in Summit, NJ, took home the $3,000 team scholarship, with the runner-up, Noblesville High School in Noblesville, IN, and third-place team Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton Township, MI, awarded $2,000 and $1,000 team scholarship awards, respectively.
“It was an amazing experience participating in M3 Challenge, and a lot of fun too,” said Ishan Nagpal from the champion team, which was coached by Michelle Gomes, a mathematics teacher at Edison Academy Magnet School. “I had never written a solution paper with a team prior to competing, so doing this for the first time—and getting to present our results to a panel of amazing judges—really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Reflecting on what led the team to the win, Nagpal commented, “A lot of the stuff that we’re learning in [Ms. Gomes’] class directly applies to the stuff we talked about in our paper. I think that’s one of the main reasons we were so successful in the Challenge.”
Coach Gomes added: “As their teacher and coach, it was a tremendous feeling to witness my students prove what they’re truly capable of outside of the classroom and win.”
The final validation judging panel included professional mathematicians Kelly Black, Ph.D., University of Georgia; Veera Holdai, Ph.D., Salisbury University; Christopher Musco, Ph.D., New York University; and Suzanne Weekes, Ph.D., SIAM.
The nearly 800 entries were narrowed down to nine finalists, six semi-finalists, and 19 honorable mentions. In total, roughly 5% of entrants were recognized with scholarship awards.
View the 2026 winning solution papers and full list of winning teams here: https://m3challenge.siam.org/resources/archives/2026-year-at-a-glance/
Watch a short video from the final event and awards ceremony here.
For more information about M3 Challenge, visit m3challenge.siam.org
About Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) is a Philadelphia-based academic society dedicated to advancing the application of mathematics and computational science to engineering, industry, science, and society. SIAM supports a global community through publications, conferences, professional development, and educational programs. Learn more at siam.org.
About MathWorks
MathWorks is the leading developer of mathematical computing software. MATLAB, the language of engineers and scientists, is a programming environment for algorithm development, data analysis, visualization, and numeric computation. Simulink is a block diagram environment for simulation and Model-Based Design of multidomain and embedded engineering systems. Engineers and scientists worldwide rely on these products to accelerate the pace of discovery, innovation, and development in automotive, aerospace, communications, electronics, industrial automation, and other industries. MATLAB and Simulink are fundamental teaching and research tools in the world’s top universities and learning institutions. Founded in 1984, MathWorks employs more than 6,500 people in 34 offices around the world, with headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, USA. For additional information, visit mathworks.com.
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