Philadelphia, PA — As global temperatures rise and heat waves become more frequent and intense, local authorities face mounting challenges—including widespread power outages that threaten communities. In search of innovative solutions, an international math organization has turned to an unexpected yet creative source: high school students.
This past weekend, 794 teams—made up of more than 3600 teens from the U.S. and U.K.—put their math skills to the test, tackling these urgent issues as part of the MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge (M3 Challenge). Competing for a share of more than $100,000 (£75,000) in scholarships, students used math and data to analyze and propose strategies for managing extreme heat and preventing power grid failures.
A program of the Philadelphia-based Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), M3 Challenge is an annual, internet-based competition designed to inspire students to pursue careers in applied mathematics, computational science, data science, and technical computing.
Over the course of Challenge weekend (February 28–March 3), high school juniors and seniors from across the U.S. and its territories, along with sixth-form students in England, Wales, and British schools overseas, worked in teams of 3-5. Their task? To harness their math, research, and teamwork skills to analyze temperature trends, predict power demand, and identify the populations most at risk. The goal: help governments and communities strategically allocate resources to effectively manage heat waves and avoid power outages.
“Heat waves are not just uncomfortable, they can be quite dangerous,” said Dr. Karen Bliss, Senior Manager of Education and Outreach at SIAM. “In many locations, air conditioning is not a luxury, but a necessity, since heat stress can exacerbate underlying illnesses in vulnerable populations.”
“Unfortunately, mass use of air conditioning puts a strain on the electrical grid and resulting power outages can be devastating,” Bliss explained. “Cities and rural areas alike will benefit from having plans in place for managing energy demands and caring for citizens who need support during heat waves.”
SIAM turned to participating students for insight, looking for answers to questions such as: How can we predict the indoor temperature of non-air-conditioned urban dwellings during a heat wave? How much demand should a power grid be prepared to handle during the summer months? Will this demand change over time? Can cities minimize the effects of a heat wave or a power grid failure?
Teams had to submit their solutions—including an executive summary of their findings written in the form of a brief to local authorities—within 14 hours of downloading the problem, replicating the tight deadlines often demanded in the real world.
“M3 Challenge tackled the intricate issue of climate change in a way that made math feel tangible and essential,” said Jiahan Li, student at Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, and M3 Challenge participant. “As a first-time participant, I realized how complicated our society can be and how each factor plays a different role in addressing a real-world issue. Throughout this intense 14-hour challenge, I learned how to break down problems step-by-step and use mathematics as a tool to become a more strategic and effective problem-solver, even when faced with unexpected challenges.”
The students’ submissions will be assessed by an international panel of Ph.D.-level mathematicians, who will select six finalists from across the U.S., England, and Wales from the hundreds of participating teams. Finalist teams will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to participate in the competition’s final judging event, which will take place April 28.
37 awards will be given as scholarship prizes, with the champion team receiving $20,000.
“Every year I am impressed by the students’ effort and ingenuity and inspired by the solutions they present,” said Dr. Jennifer Gorman, assistant professor of mathematics, Lake Superior State University and M3 Challenge judge. “One of the aspects of M3 Challenge that I like best is that the problem has more than one answer. Students can think about the problem in ways that make sense to them, leaving lots of opportunities for teams to be creative. This year, students spent 14 hours thinking about the implications of heat waves and power failures—a real-world problem that may have or could at some point impact their own lives in real ways.”
According to Dr. Bliss, while many students are motivated by the prospect of winning scholarship money for college, some compete simply because the experience is rewarding and fun.
“The moment we figured out an important ratio, we all started screaming with excitement,” said Dirk Thayer, a student at Loveland Classical Schools High School in Loveland, Colorado, and M3 Challenge participant. “We were so invested in the problem and finding a solution that we forgot we had signed up for this—we were just enjoying the process of problem-solving as a team.”
View the M3 Challenge 2025 problem statement. Learn more about M3 Challenge.
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an international society of 13,000 individual, academic and corporate members from 100 countries. SIAM helps build cooperation between mathematics and the worlds of science and technology to solve real-world problems through publications, conferences, and communities like chapters, sections and activity groups. Learn more at siam.org.
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 also fundamental teaching and research tools in the world’s universities and learning institutions. Founded in 1984, MathWorks employs more than 6,500 people in 34 countries, with headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, USA. For additional information, visit mathworks.com.
