Shing-Tung Yau High School Mathematics Award

Guideline and Regulations

Team composition and eligibility

Each team should consist of one to three student members from the same public or private high school or non-profit community organization.
Each team must be supervised by a coach. The coach could be a high school teacher, a professor of a college or university, or an adult instructor/group leader of a community organization.
Student status is defined by school enrollment on September, 2007. If a student leaves the original school after September, 2007, the student will be considered as representing the original school even if the student is enrolled at another institution at the time of report submission.
A school may have more than one team participating in the competition. A coach may also lead more than one team. However, a student can be listed only in one team.
A team may choose to have a faculty mentor in addition to have a school teach as a coach.

Research Area

The areas of research must be mathematical sciences and their applications, such as:

Basic research: e.g. algebra, analysis, geometry, probability, statistics.
Engineering applications: computing, internet, communications, information and digital technology, etc.
Commercial applications: economics, finance, logistics, management, decision science, operations research, transportation, etc.
Scientific applications: medicine, physics, chemistry, biology, environment and health problems, etc.
Innovation designs: image and visualization, games, puzzles, algorithms, etc.

Perspective participants may consult our advisors for references or referral to college professors as coaches/mentors.

Selection Criteria

The Yau (HSM) Awards strive to provide a fair and encouraging environment for all participants. Depending upon the level of competition, projects will be evaluated by regional, national or international panels. All panelists are asked to evaluate each project with professionalism and scholarship. For regional presentations (e.g. U.S. and Taiwan), the regional panel’s decision is final. For the final competition in Beijing, the International Panel’s decision is final. At each level, the panelists are asked to apply increasingly rigorous requirements on the following set of criteria.

Relevance to mathematical sciences (pure and applied mathematics, statistics and probability).
Originality in choice of subject for investigation and/or choice of techniques.
Creativity in problem solving and methodology.
Rigor in mathematical development.
Contribution and potential to future mathematical development.
Impact to mathematical sciences.
Scholarship and clarity of written report.
If applicable, scholarship and clarity of spoken presentation.
If applicable, impact to subjects other than, but related to, mathematical sciences.

Remarks: All written reports are expected to be in English. All presentations are expected to be delivered in English.

Assessment Process (Overseas)

Successful participants are subjected to several levels of assessments: Research Report Review, Regional Presentation, and Final Competition (Oral Defense)

Research Report Review

Each submitted research report will first be screened by a Screening Panel to determine whether it has met basic academic standards. Each report that passes the initial screening is sent to members of the Prize Selection Committee (Overseas) or referees in the relevant fields for review. The Prize Selection Committee (Overseas) will select about ten teams to participate in the “Regional Presentation”.

Regional Presentation

Each invited team will be given 20 minutes to verbally present its project in front of an expert panel. Visual aids such as display board, overhead transparency and computer projection are allowed. Each team is subjected to no more than ten minutes of questions from the panel. Only student members could participate in the presentation.

The panel consists of mainly college professors. Each panel will have three to five persons.

The presentation is not open to public. However, up to four representatives from each invited team could observe each presentation. Questions and comments from the audience are not allowed during a presentation.

Final Competition (Oral Defense)

The Scientific Committee of Shing-Tung Yau High School Mathematics Awards consists of the International Committee and the National Committee. The committee members are internationally renowned mathematicians. The committee is the highest authority of the assessment and guarantees the academic standard of the Awards.

The National Committee has the right to review recommendation of the Prize Selection Committee (Overseas). It also has the right to review the research reports of the recommended finalists. Once a finalist team is approved by the National Committee, this team is qualified to participate in the Final Competition (Oral Defense), in Beijing.

Members of the Scientific Committee adjudicate the oral defense. Each team selected to participate in the oral defense will make a brief presentation of their research, followed by an inquiry before the members of the Scientific Committee. The Scientific Committee will take into consideration the team's performance in the oral defense session when choosing the winners of Yau (HSM) Awards.

Academic Honesty and Guidance

In the process of the research, students are encouraged to consult with experts and coaches. However, team members should have actually performed the research task and should truly understand the content of their work. Methods and results due to others used in the research should be cited, and documented in a reference list of the report. Each participating team should observe the common standard of academic integrity adopted by most mathematics journals or degree theses.

Intellectual Property

Original work and results are the intellectual belongings to the participants and this is respected by Yau (HSM) Awards. The Yau (HSM) Awards only reserves first right of refusal on the works of award winners. Winners should approach the Yau (HSM) Awards before they publish their works or derive any benefit from it. In addition, works of winners may be used in part or in full for the promotion of Yau (HSM) Awards.

The prizes

The prizes are given according to the level of competitions.

Regional prizes (Overseas):

Each member of a team invited to participate in the Regional Presentation will be given a certificate of “Semi-finalists” for Yau (HSM) Awards.
Up to five teams among the semi-finalists will be awarded certificates of “finalist” for Yau (HSM) Awards
Each finalist team will be awarded US$400 in cash.
Each semi-finalist (non-finalist) team will be awarded US$100 in cash.

Additional Opportunities

Each finalist team will be recommended to participate in the final competition (Oral Defense) in Beijing. Approval of recommendation is subject to the review and approval of the National Committee of the Yau (HSM) Awards.
The Executive Committee of Yau (HSM) Awards may provide financial support to selected overseas finalists to participate in the final (Oral Defense) competition in Beijing.
Teams in the Oral Defense are in competition for the Yau (HMS) Awards. Details on the Awards could be found in the page: Awards.

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