MATHCOUNTS

About MATHCOUNTS

Developed in 1983 as the first nationwide program of its kind, MATHCOUNTS combines the efforts of volunteers, educators, industry sponsors, the government and the technology community to promote math excellence among middle school students. The purpose of MATHCOUNTS To provide engaging math programs to US middle school students of all ability levels to build confidence and improve attitudes about math and problem solving. Currently in its 42nd year, MATHCOUNTS meets its purpose by providing three separate, but complementary, programs for middle school students: The MATHCOUNTS Competition Series and The National Math Club.

This grassroots network of more than 17,000 volunteers organize MATHCOUNTS competitions nationwide. Each year over 500 local competitions and 56 “state” competitions are conducted, primarily by chapter and state societies of the National Society of Professional Engineers. In Maryland, we are 100% volunteer led. There are no paid positions. All contributions go directly to supporting the purchase of trophies, tee-shirts, buttons, patches, etc.
to make the day memorable for the Mathletes. We are very fortunate to have the Maryland Society of Professional Engineers Education Foundation, The McDonogh School and STV Incorporated as our sponsors for our State Chapter Competitions so far this year. Below you will find the 2025 competition schedule.

Upcoming Competitions

Chapter Competitions

Saturday, February 1, 2025:  Baltimore/Chesapeake Chapter and Howard Chapter (Baltimore, Cecil, Harford, Baltimore City and Howard Counties)
Location: The McDonogh School
Coordinator Email: Joel.Oppenheimer@STVInc.com

Saturday, February 1, 2025: Southern Maryland Chapter Competition (Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties)
Location: Calvert High School
Coordinator Email: Natalie.Cotton@SMECO.coop

Saturday, February 8, 2025: Potomac Chapter (Montgomery/Prince George’s Counties)
Location: University of Maryland at College Park
Coordinator Email: Chris.S.Anderson.PE@gmail.com

Saturday, February 8, 2025: Frederick Chapter (Frederick and Carroll Counties) 
Location: Walkersville Middle School
Coordinator Email: MikeSwan1200@hotmail.com

Saturday, February 22, 2025: Annapolis Chapter (Anne Arundel County, Eastern Shore)
Location: Chesapeake Science Point Charter School
Coordinator: Kelly.Misner@STVinc.com

Saturday, February 22, 2025: Hagerstown Chapter (Washington, Garrett and Allegany Counties)
Location: Washington Middle School, Cumberland
Coordinator Email: stephen.thompson@acpsmd.org

Maryland State Competition

Saturday, March 15, 2025
Location: The McDonogh School
Coordinator Email: Joel.Oppenheimer@STVInc.com

National Competition

May 11-12, 2025 | TBD, Washington, DC
Top four Maryland Mathletes based on the results of the Maryland State Competition will attend and represent Maryland.

The MATHCOUNTS Competition Series is comprised of up to 4 different rounds:

  • The Sprint Round (40 minutes) consists of 30 problems. This round tests accuracy, with time being such that only
    the most capable students will complete all of the problems. Calculators are not permitted.
  • The Target Round (approximately 30 minutes) consists of eight problems presented to competitors in four pairs (6
    minutes per pair). This round features multi-step problems that engage Mathletes in mathematical reasoning and
    problem-solving processes. Problems assume the use of calculators.
  • The Team Round (20 minutes) consists of 10 problems that team members work together to solve. Team member
    interaction is permitted and encouraged. Problems assume the use of calculators.
  • The Countdown Round is a fast-paced, oral competition for top-scoring individuals (based on scores in the Sprint
    and Target Rounds). In this round, pairs of Mathletes compete against each other and the clock to solve problems.
    Calculators are not permitted. In Maryland, the Countdown Round is unofficial and is only conducted for the fun of it.

    The Individual Scores are determined as the number of correct Sprint Answers plus the number of correct Target Round
    Answers x 2 (maximum score is 46). The Team Score is the average Individual Scores of the four team members plus 2 x
    the number of correct Team Round Answers (maximum score is 66).

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering can include proctoring which begins with the beginning competition time (8:30 or 9:00 am for Chapter
Competitions and 9:30 am for the State Competition and is done by approximately 11:30 am or noon; helping with grading
(we provide answer sheets) and that begins 30 minutes after the competition begins and is usually done by 12 or 12:30 pm
and help in the scoring room which is usually done by 1 pm or 1:30 pm but starts a little later (approximately 30 minutes
after the competition begins).

If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact the Chapter Coordinator listed above. They will provide all the details you need.

Volunteering for MATHCOUNTS is a rewarding experience where you’ll witness firsthand the enthusiasm and talent of Maryland’s brightest young mathematicians. Join us and make a difference!

For more information, visit www.mathcounts.org

Mike Sarafin Bio

Mike Sarafin, Mission Manager, NASA Headquarters

EXPERIENCE: Sarafin currently serves at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., as the mission manager for Artemis III, which will land astronauts on the Moon to advance long-term human lunar exploration and scientific discovery. Before, in late 2022, Sarafin served as the mission manager for the maiden voyage of Artemis I, confirming that the agency’s deep space rocket, spacecraft, and ground systems needed for launch and recovery are ready to fly astronauts on missions to the Moon. As mission manager, Sarafin chairs the Mission Management Team (MMT) for uncrewed and human spaceflight missions involving the Artemis program — comprised of the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, Exploration Ground Systems, Gateway, and Human Landing System programs. As the MMT chair for Artemis III, Sarafin has requirements-change authority, provides risk acceptance at the agency level and oversight of mission operations across all flight phases (launch, in space, and recovery), and is the launch decision authority — giving the final “GO” to proceed with launch. Prior to becoming mission manager, Sarafin served as one of 87 individuals who have led human spaceflight operations as a NASA flight director. In that role he accumulated a decade of experience, with overall responsibility for safety and success of assigned space shuttle, International Space Station, and Orion flight test mission operations from within mission control in Houston.
Sarafin’s experience to date totals 65 spaceflight missions, including 43 space shuttle missions; 20 station Expeditions of American, Canadian, European, Japanese, and Russian astronauts and cosmonauts; and two Orion uncrewed flight tests. Thirty-three of those missions he supported as flight director (12 space shuttle, 20 station, and two Orion), and 31 of those missions were supported as a space shuttle Guidance, Navigation, and Flight Control officer (call sign “GNC”) mission controller. As GNC, he executed launch, landing, rendezvous, and docking operations of the space shuttle with the former Russian Space Station Mir and the present-day space station. He also led flight testing of the uncrewed Orion spacecraft aboard a Delta-IV Heavy rocket, conducted assembly and repair operations of the station, servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), deployment and recovery of unmanned satellites, and enabled missions dedicated to science and human research. In his current and previous roles, Sarafin represents the U.S. government and NASA’s human spaceflight programs and partnerships around the globe during mission operations. Leading up to mission execution, he serves as a senior technical leader that integrates mission requirements, mission planning, operations, and flight readiness.
Additionally, Sarafin completed a one-year rotational assignment at NASA Headquarters in 2011 as a program analyst. He also supported the Space Shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation Board and recovery effort by performing parallel vehicle recovery and flight reconstruction accident investigation activities.

PERSONAL DATA: Michael Sarafin was born in 1972 in Herkimer, N.Y., and graduated from Richfield Springs Central School in upstate New York in 1990. He considers Richfield Springs, NY, his hometown and currently resides in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Angela.

 

EDUCATION: Sarafin received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., in 1994.

SPECIAL HONORS:

  • Two NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals: 2007, 2014
  • Three NASA Exceptional Service Medals: 2008, 2009, 2010
  • NASA 25-year Civil Service Award: 2018 • Woodstock Award, Clarkson University: 2014
  • NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal: 2005
  • Mission Control Plaque Hanging Honors for support of STS-111 space shuttle mission: 2002
  • Astronaut’s Personal Achievement Award (Silver Snoopy): 2000

Webinar Presentation Summaries

Frederick Douglass Tunnel - A New Era of Passenger Rail in America

Luigi Rosa, PE, PMP, CCM | AVP, Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program | Amtrak

Our first presentation will be delivered by Luigi Rosa, Assistant Vice President for the Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program at Amtrak. With over $6 billion invested in this critical infrastructure project, Luigi spearheads Amtrak’s endeavor to bring its ambitious plan into reality. His presentation will provide key insights into the challenges and opportunities that Amtrak faces in constructing this vital asset. The project aims to modernize 10 miles of the Northeast Corridor within the Baltimore area, and play a pivotal role in the transformation of American passenger rail for the 21st century.

Operation Readiness for Rail

Andrew Mitchem | Associate Vice President | Network Rail Consulting

The transition from project delivery to a live running operation is fraught with complexity. In today’s world of integrated railroad systems the needs of the ‘operator’ need to be considered far earlier in a project timeline. Understanding the needs and requirements to successfully deliver day 1 operations requires a deep involvement within the project throughout its lifecycle.

This Presentation will discuss why operators should be engaged in a construction program as early as possible and will draw on the lessons learned from other railroad tunnelling projects from a perspective of Network Rail UK, such as Crossrail and Thameslink. The common theme being how a new railroad is integrated into an existing railroad networks. The focus on operational readiness will provide the audience with a number of key takeaways that should be developed as part of any construction program requirements package.

Back to event

2024 Industry Icon Award

2024 MDSPE Industry Icon Award Recipient

Oscar Barton, Jr., PhD, PE

Oscar Barton, Jr., PhD, PE is a Professor and Dean of the Morgan State University Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. School of Engineering. A native of Washington, D.C., he received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Tuskegee (Institute) University, his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Ph.D. in Applied Mechanics from Howard University in 1993.  Serving as its 3rd Dean, he joined Morgan from George Mason University after having established its Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Volgenau School of Engineering.  Prior to joining Mason, he began his academic career at the United States Naval Academy.

Dr. Barton’s research focuses on the development of approximate closed form solutions for linear self-adjoint systems, those that govern the responses of composite structures, and the analysis of dynamic systems. More recently, he investigated the dynamic response of flexible composite structures subject to periodic and random excitation. He has mentored numerous midshipmen through independent research projects and has directed two Trident Scholars, the Naval Academy’s flagship research program. He has published over 60 journal and conference articles on these topics.  While at the US Naval Academy and in its 163-year history, Dr. Barton was one of only three African-Americans to obtain the rank of tenured full professor and the first to achieve this milestone in the Division of Engineering and Weapons, Division I.  In 2010, he was the first African-American to lead the Mechanical Engineering Department as chair.

As the founding mechanical engineering department chair at Mason, Dr. Barton ushered growth of the department from 3 faculty and 12 students to 17 faculty and 385 undergraduate students and 6 doctoral students as of spring 2020. Under his leadership the undergraduate program received initial EAC-ABET accreditation retroactive to fall of 2015, reaccredited to fall 2024, established state-of- the-art teaching and research labs on the Mason’s Sci-Tech campus, and established an interim Ph.D. program.

Dr. Barton is an elected fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Registered Engineer licensed to practice engineering in the State of Maryland.  He chaired ASME’s Committee on Engineering Education, served as a member of ASME Public Affairs and Outreach Council, and served as a member-at-large on the Engineering Accreditation Commission’s Executive Committee of ABET, after having served numerous years as a program evaluator and commissioner.  He currently serves as a member on the Board of Trustees for Missouri University S & T, ASME Foundation, chairs ASME’s Nominating Committee, Army Education Advisory Committee and National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering. He is Vice-Chair for the Council of HBCU Engineering Deans and is a member of the Academic Advisory Council for ABET.

Join us in celebrating Dr. Barton at the Engineers Reception & Awards Night on May 1 at the Engineers Club.

Event Details

MDSPE Legislative Actions

From PE licensure requirements and government reviews of proposed developments to who qualifies to install a backyard septic system, MDSPE’s Legislative Committee is following multiple issues during the 2024 session of the Maryland General Assembly.

Continue reading