The Einstein Mad Hat Awards

To celebrate the recent discovery of the Hat and Spectre tiles, which tessellate the plane but only in a non-repeating way, the National Museum of Mathematics and the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust are pleased to announce The Einstein Mad Hat Awards, for renditions of the Hat and Spectre tiles.

Submissions highlighting the connections between mathematics, art, design, and catering are encouraged.  There are two competitions offering $20,000 in total awards to be distributed.

The Scholastic Einstein Mad Hat Competition: This competition will award a scholarship to one winner who is currently enrolled in high school, secondary school, or the equivalent.  The scholarship will be applied towards tuition at an accredited college or university.

The Global Einstein Mad Hat Competition: This competition will award a cash prize to one adult winner.  The adult winner must be 18 years of age or older and must not be enrolled in high school, secondary school, or the equivalent.

Entries might include:

  • Useful things
  • Useless things
  • Physical creations
  • Non-physical designs
  • Drawings
  • Fiber arts
  • Baked goods
  • Actual hats
  • Soccer balls
  • Ceramic tiles

Additional competition rules

An individual can apply to only one of the two contests.  Your responses to the submission form will determine the Contest for which your entry will be considered.

No more than two students per school may submit entries to the Scholastic Competition; please be sure to coordinate with your school administration to avoid the disqualification of any entries.

All judges’ decisions are final and are not subject to appeal.

Prizes and recognition

The winner of the Scholastic Competition, plus one parent or guardian, and the winner of the Global Competition will be invited to attend an award ceremony in December 2023, with paid travel and lodging expenses, in Parliament!

In addition, a $10 credit to Additions, the shop at MoMath, will be given to the best entries (up to a maximum of 50) received by the deadline from US entrants.

Submission deadlines

The submission deadline is Monday, October 30, at 9:00 pm ET.

Sponsors

Principal Sponsor
The Principal Sponsor for the Einstein Mad HAT Competition is XTX Markets, a leading algorithmic trading firm which partners with counterparties, exchanges and e-trading venues globally to provide liquidity in the Equity, FX, Fixed Income, Futures and Commodity markets.  XTX has over 200 employees based in London, Paris, New York, Mumbai, Yerevan and Singapore.
Since 2017, XTX has donated over £100mn to charities and good causes, establishing it as a major donor in the UK and globally.  The company’s corporate philanthropy focuses on STEM education and maximum impact giving, and also includes an employee matching programme and carbon removals.  As part of this, XTX is the Founding Donor of a new £7mn ‘Maths Excellence Fund’, established to support schools in England to improve attainment and progression in maths from 11-18 years of age.
Over the past 18 months, XTX has also donated over £35mn in support of Ukraine, including humanitarian relief and academic sanctuaries programmes.  As part of this, XTX has committed £10mn in direct funding for studentships, fellowships and research positions for 336 people across 45 institutions globally.  XTX is also the Founding Donor of the new International Centre for Mathematics in Ukraine, the country’s first maths-specific research institute.
   
Associate Sponsors
   
G-Research is Europe’s leading quantitative finance research firm.  We hire the brightest minds in the world to tackle some of the biggest questions in finance.  We pair this expertise with machine learning, big data, and some of the most advanced technology available to predict movements in financial markets.
   
Jane Street is a quantitative trading firm with offices worldwide.  We hire smart, humble people who love to solve problems, build systems, and test theories.  You’ll learn something new every day in our office — whether it’s connecting with a colleague to share perspectives, or participating in a talk, class, or game night.  Our success is driven by our people and we never stop improving.  Learn more about our educational programs here and our internships and full-time roles here.
   
Dexter and Deborah Senft  
   
Philipp Legner Founder of Mathigon.org
   
UKMT The United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT) is a registered charity, no. 1059125 (in England and Wales).  UKMT is a volunteer-led charity established to advance the education of children and young people in mathematics.  We aim to achieve this in particular, but not exclusively, by organising and running mathematics competitions.