IMA Outcomes

Assessment of the success of scientific endeavors, e.g., IMA workshops, is often difficult and subjective, but it is important to make an attempt to document connections between such efforts and their results.

Below, we give a few examples of positive outcomes of IMA activities, and we plan to elaborate on more of these in future issues of Update.

Understanding the nonlinearity of hearing. Jack Xin of the University of Texas and Yingyong Qi of Qualcomm, Inc. were grappling with a fundamental issue in their work on computational modeling the signal processing aspects of human hearing, namely how to model the nonlinear way the auditory system responded to multiple tones and the resulting masking effects. Their discussions with Li Deng of Microsoft at the workshop suggested a new approach to coupling auditory neural feedback to their mechanically based models and flowered into an ongoing collaboration which recently led to a breakthrough in the numerical modeling of multitone auditory responses. This work, published in 2003, may lead to significant applications to voice processing systems such as hearing aids and to audio compression methods such as MP3.

Mathematical scientists mobilized for biodefense. The Hot Topic workshop on Operational Modeling and Biodefense: Problems, Techniques, and Opportunities had a significant impact on engaging researchers and building collaborations in the critical area of biodefense modeling. John Hotchkiss, a medical doctor, became ``really fired up'' about mathematical modeling of infectious processes, and has initiated as a result. Moshe Kress, an operations researcher of the Center for Military Analyses and Awi Federgruen, chair of Management Sciences at Columbia, are completing a paper entitled ``Mass-Vaccination: Can it Be Done in Time? Completion Times in Queuing Systems.'' Paul Zipkin, of Duke's Fuqua School of Business, has directed several students towards work suggested by Kress's presentation at the workshop. Glenn Webb, a mathematician from Vanderbilt, was very impressed by the presentation of Larry Wein, who he met at the workshop, on the modeling of a large-scale airborne anthrax attack, studied the work, and recently published a commentary on it in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science which has been picked up by the news media.

IMA biodefense workshop.