Background

The Simon Marais Mathematics Competition is an annual competition that aims to:
  • Encourage creative mathematical problem-solving among undergraduate students
  • Identify talented students across many regions of the world, including the Asia-Pacific​
  • Forge links between academics involved in the Competition
  • Promote healthy competition among students as well as between universities
Who was Simon Marais?
Dr Simon Marais was a South African-born physicist who became a prominent contrarian asset manager in South Africa and later Australia. He maintained a life-long passionate interest in mathematics and mathematical problem solving after completing a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University in 1991. Dr Marais passed away on 26 February 2015, after battling metastatic cancer that had been discovered five months earlier. ​
The Board of Simon Marais Mathematics Competition Limited:
  • Prof. Anthony Henderson
  • Dr Suhas Nayak
  • Dr Jean Pretorius
Company Secretary:
  • Ms Elizabeth Lee​
The Organising Committee of the Competition:
  • Chair: Prof. Ole Warnaar (University of Queensland)​
  • Dr Andrew Conway (Chairman and Founder, Silicon Genetics) 
  • Prof. Michael Giudici (The University of Western Australia)
  • Prof. Catherine Greenhill (UNSW)
  • Dr Sean Gardiner (UNSW)
  • All three Directors, ex officio
  • Chair of the Problem Committee, ex officio
​The Problem Committee of the Competition:
  • Chair: Dr Christopher Tuffley (Massey University)
  • Dr Ross Atkins (Verizon Connect, New Zealand)
  • Dr Liam Baker (Stellenbosch University)
  • A/Prof Norman Do (Monash University)
  • Dr Jonathan Kariv (Isazi Consulting)
  • Dr Ka Ho Law (University of Hong Kong)
  • Dr Peter McNamara (University of Queensland)
  • Prof Johan Meyer (University of the Free State)​
  • Dr Ian Payne (University of Waterloo)