322 The UMAP Journal 24.3 (2003) The better papers used a variety of methods to model the safe landing These included kinematics, work, and energy absorption. The discussion of the boxes and how they were to be secured was also an important feature. One team laid many large mattress boxes flat on top of the stacked boxes to give a smooth landing area. The judges enjoyed the creativity of the teams in this area About the author Dr. William P. Fox is Professor and the Chair of the Department of Mathematics at Francis Marion Univer- sity. He received his M.S. in operations research from the Naval postgraduate school and his ph. D. in oper ations research and industrial engineering from Clem son University. Prior to coming to Francis Marion, he was a professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the United States Military Academy. He has co-authored several mathematical modeling text books and makes numerous conference presentations on mathematical modeling, as well as being a SIAM lecturer. He is currently the director of the High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling(HiMCM) He was a co-author of last year's airline overbooking Problem322 The UMAP Journal 24.3 (2003) The better papers used a variety of methods to model the safe landing. These included kinematics, work, and energy absorption. The discussion of the boxes and how they were to be secured was also an important feature. One team laid many large mattress boxes flat on top of the stacked boxes to give a smooth landing area. The judges enjoyed the creativity of the teams in this area. About the Author Dr. William P. Fox is Professor and the Chair of the Department of Mathematics at Francis Marion Univer￾sity. He received his M.S. in operations research from the Naval Postgraduate School and his Ph.D. in oper￾ations research and industrial engineering from Clem￾son University. Prior to coming to Francis Marion, he was a professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the United States Military Academy. He has co-authored several mathematical modeling text￾books and makes numerous conference presentations on mathematical modeling, as well as being a SIAM lecturer. He is currently the director of the High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling (HiMCM). He was a co-author of last year’s Airline Overbooking Problem