• Home
• Outreach
• Western Mathematics Exposition Competition

The Western Mathematics Exposition Competition

Welcome to the Western University Mathematics Exposition Competition (WMEC).We are delighted to host another round of this vibrant event where high school students join in teams of 2-3 to explore intriguing mathematical themes beyond the standard curriculum, with a focus on presenting final projects through different media (posters, videos, and artifacts). WMEC brings together community members at every level, in different roles, to inspire a love of mathematics and spark curiosity among the younger generation.

How It Works

Students join as a team of 2-3 students and work under supervision of a mentor to research one of the announced themes and develop a poster, a video, or a mathematical artifact.

High school teachers, teacher candidates from the Faculty of Education, and senior undergraduate students from Western University can register as mentors for the teams. Each mentor primarily serves as a supervisor and helps their team identify a topic of interest, ensure their teams stay on the right track and assist them with time management and meeting deadlines, verify that the submitted projects meet the requirements, submit the final project; the submission link will only be available to the team mentors. The estimated time commitment for mentoring each team is 7-10 hours.

The judging board will include faculty members, postdocs, and graduate students from the Department of Mathematics. The judges will evaluate the posters and videos according to the provided rubric. For the artifacts, judging will take place on the morning of the ceremony day in the presence of students, teams, and their mentors, following the format of regular math fairs and using the developed rubric.

In each category—videos, posters, and artifacts—the top three teams will be announced as winners and will receive medals and monetary prizes. In addition to these three main categories, there are two special categories for which winners will also be announced. All projects, regardless of their category, will automatically be considered for these special prizes if their work fits within the themes of these categories.

Timeline for 2025-26

• Registration for teams and mentors opens: November 15, 2025
• Themes release: January 1, 2026
• Registration closes: February 7, 2026
• Pre-submission of the projects: March 11, 2026 
• Final Submission Deadline: March 25, 2026
• Award Ceremony and project dispaly day: April 18, 2026

 

---

 

Registration

Find your team members and complete the registration. The registration fee for each team is $75. Financial support is available for those who need it—just contact the coordinator for more information.

 

       Team Registration        

 

---

Themes

Theme 1: Mathematics and Nature
Explore the ways mathematics helps us understand and respond to natural systems and global challenges. Participants may investigate how mathematical ideas are used in areas such as sustainability, biological systems, public health, or climate science. Possible angles include modeling population growth, tracking the spread of disease, optimizing resource use, or predicting environmental change, with attention to how mathematics informs real-world decision-making.

Theme 2: Ancient Mathematics

For this theme, participation is restricted to the artifact category only; poster and video submissions will not be accepted and will be disqualified. Explore mathematical ideas from ancient civilizations through the creation and study of artifacts inspired by historical sources. Participants in this theme must submit an artifact and are encouraged to design their own artifact that demonstrates a theorem, method, or mathematical idea from ancient mathematics. Submissions should highlight how mathematics was represented, communicated, or applied in its historical context, drawing connections between surviving artifacts and the underlying mathematical thinking of the time.

Theme 3: Modern Mathematics in the Digital World
Investigate how contemporary mathematical ideas underpin modern digital technologies. Participants may explore topics such as cryptography and digital security, algorithms in artificial intelligence, or the mathematics behind video game design. The focus should be on how abstract mathematical concepts are translated into practical systems that shape everyday digital experiences.

Theme 4: Mysteries of Mathematics
Delve into some of the most enduring open questions in mathematics. Participants should select an unsolved problem, explain its mathematical context and significance, and discuss why it has resisted solution. Teams may also explore attempted approaches, partial results, or what a solution might mean for mathematics or related fields.

 

Special Category

This year’s special category is Contributions of Canadian Mathematicians, which invites participants to explore and highlight the mathematical achievements and influence of Canadian mathematicians, both historical and contemporary. This special category recognizes projects that clearly and creatively articulate how Canadian mathematicians have contributed to the development and application of mathematical ideas. If your project, addressing one of the above themes, also incorporates this special topic and meaningfully explains these contributions, your team will be automatically eligible to compete in this special category, which offers a separate $500 award for the winning team.

---

Organizing Committee of 2025-26:

• Coordinator: Dr. Asghar Ghorbanpour
• Coordinator Assistant: Anna Ng
• Marketing and Outreach Director: Bahar Zali Kah Kesh
• Operations Assistants: Harshith Alagandala, Stoyan Sendov
• Mathematics Element Advisor: Adrian Chitan 

---

Winners of 2025 Competition: 

 

---

Highlights of Past Competitions 

 

Highlights of 2024-25 Competition

 

Highlights of 2023-24 Competition

 

Highlights of 2022-23 Competition

 

---

 More Resources

The following video can help the participants to choose a proper topic for their project as well as guide them in the production of their project.