Harker recently received accolades for its participation in the 2016 High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling (HiMCM). In November, two teams of Harker students worked on solutions to real-world mathematical problems over a period of 36 hours. The first team – made up of sophomores Ayush Pancholy, Ashwin Rammohan, Nishant Ravi and Akshay Ravoor – devised a way to reduce course congestion during a 2,000-person triathlon, earning them an honorable mention in the contest. 

The second team – comprising juniors Michael Kwan, Rajiv Movva and Shaya Zarkesh, and sophomore Katherine Tian – earned a successful participant designation for developing a method to expand a small business to serve the continental United States.

Both teams worked through an entire weekend, with each team creating a 30-page document outlining in detail how each of their solutions would work. “I could not be more thrilled by the energy, enthusiasm and fun the students had over the weekend,” said upper school math teacher Tony Silk.