Mathematical Modeling in Industry:
Making it real for graduate students

Apply for the 2005 Mathematical Modeling in Industry workshop, August 1-10, by April 15.

In summer 2004, the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications hosted the sixth workshop in its ongoing Mathematical Modeling in Industry series. In these intensive ten-day workshops, teams of graduate students work under the guidance of a mentor from industry on important unsolved problems arising in the mentors' home corporations. The workshops give students an exceptional opportunity to experience the excitement and challenges of confronting—and sometimes even solving—real industrial problems.

The demanding work schedule, which includes mid-program and final oral progress reports and a final written report, gives students a taste of the exhilaration—and the stress—of a demanding industrial research environment. Even some of the industrial mentors pull all-nighters. Workshop participant Sonja Petrovic writes "It shows clearly what industrial research is really like. The posed problem was clear enough for all of us to understand and showed us how to deal with areas of mathematics that we didn't have a strong background in. It was also helpful in learning how to do research quickly so as to reach a reasonable result! With just the right amount of guidance, not letting us hang there by ourselves but also not solving the problem for us, our mentor led us through an exciting ten days of discovery."

The challenge of extracting a tractable mathematical problem from a highly complex industrial problem, and then efficiently acquiring sufficient knowledge of the relevant mathematics, was central to the workshop. For Josh Strodtbeck "the best part of the project was that it was really multi-faceted, so that those of us who had little or no background in statistics and stochastic processes still found ways to make ourselves useful." Participants learn firsthand the practical and personal rewards of teamwork. Jung-ha An wrote "In a short time period, it was very surprising how much work could be accomplished with so small a group, which in turn gave me confidence and strength. I am sure that the experiences at this workshop will remain as a refreshing memory throughout the rest of my career." Saziye Bayram expressed similar sentiments more simply. "I had the most amazing group study experience. I will definitely miss my group."

Although the program was designed with students in mind, it is often equally valuable and exhilarating for the mentors, many of whom willingly make the ten-day commitment more than once. Although none of the mentors has (yet) reported the $300,000 annual savings that resulted from the students' work at a previous workshop, repeat mentor John Hoffman of Lockheed-Martin finds that mentoring students spurs his own scientific creativity: "it was the first time in a while that I walked a group of outsiders through the mathematics that I do everyday. In so doing, I was able to solve a problem that's been open for a couple of years." Three-time mentor Tom Grandine of Boeing reports "I have already had a discussion with a group within Boeing which specializes in data fusion. I'm hopeful that the ideas the students pursued can find their way into future data fusion projects." He may place even higher value on the personal rewards. "This workshop will be one of the high points of the year for me in terms of excitement and enthusiasm. I returned to my own job with a renewed commitment to exploring new ideas and new mathematical techniques in our area. Most of all, the students left me with a sense that the future of the world is indeed very bright." Us too.