For two mathematics whizzes from Shatin Tsung Tsin Secondary School who won the gold prize at the Hang Lung Mathematics Awards last year, it is now time to think of what to do with the HK$250,000 in prize money they won.
Form Seven students, Li Kwok-chung and Ng Chi-fai, beat the competition by solving a classical 17th century mathematics problem - the Isoareal and Isoperimetric Deformation of Curves.
The problem is how to deform a curve such that the rate of change of perimeter is maximum while the area and the total kinetic energy are fixed.
They came up with a different way to solve the problem from the usual reference books, and they illustrated their own findings with an example from everyday life to win the appreciation and recognition of the judges.
The boys found that amoebas formed a circle to minimise their surface area exposed to the sun.
The Hang Lung Mathematics Awards are awarded every two years to secondary school students in Hong Kong. The objective of the Awards is to encourage students and teachers to approach science and maths in a creative way and stimulate their joy of academic discovery.
This is the second time the two teenagers have taken part in this particular competition.