Really, anything that can be formulated as a mathematical problem – in other words, nearly everything one could possibly be curious about. We will help you express your problem in mathematical language for posting. Problems can range from any kind of optimization to a mathematical modeling task. In plain English, that could mean a question of increased efficiency, resource distribution, cost minimization, scenario simulation, network analysis, predictions, algorithm design… The possibilities are endless.

With the help of the eBourbaki team, we will take your question and standardize it. We try to keep questions short (though not too short!). We also try and the keep the presentation plain and not too technical to allow flexibility and to ensure as many people as possible can have a go at answering them. We are exponents of the art of plain language so people of almost any age and from almost anywhere in the world can try to solve these problems (unless you have a specific demographic you wish to target); we aim to be truly international.

eBourbaki maintains strong connections with the academic mathematics and applied mathematics communities -- our panel of judges is interdisciplinary with experience in mathmatical modeling and substantive knowledge germane to the problem at hand. eBourbaki will keep every submitted solution, including the winning solution. If there is no solution of sufficient quality, the contest will not yield a winner and there will be no cost to the problem-poser. We are dedicated to sucessful implementation of the winning solutions.

If you would like us to conceal your identity (and potentially make data provided to problem-solvers generic) then we are happy to do so.