ITL Co-sponsors Workshop on Industrial Mathematics
June 1999
ITL's Mathematical and Computational Science Division (MCSD) co-sponsored a
workshop on Mathematical Problems in Industry (MPI), which was hosted by the
University of Delaware on June 7-11, 1999. The event brought together applied
mathematicians and scientists from universities, government laboratories,
and industry to work on previously unsolved mathematical problems posed by
industrial representatives during an intensive one-week workshop.
The Delaware MPI was organized by Dr. Richard Braun, former MCSD staff member
who is now in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of
Delaware. More than 50 mathematicians and scientists from the United States,
the United Kingdom, and Finland attended, including several NIST staff and
guest researchers. The workshop was the 15th in a series previously held
at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The MPI workshop is similar in
format to the Oxford Study Group, a well-known series of workshops held in
the United Kingdom.
Problems considered at the workshop were initially presented by scientists from
the IBM Thomas Watson Research Laboratory (shape optimization of read heads for
hard drives), Astropower (epitaxial growth of semiconductors for solar cells),
Lockheed Martin (interference filters for thermophotovoltaic applications),
and Albany International (dynamics of a roll press nip in machining paper).
During the workshop each participant worked on one or more of the problems in
groups advised by the industrial representatives, with daily progress reports
from each group. Progress summaries were presented on the final day of the
workshop by a representative from each group, followed by critiques from the
industrial representatives. The work will be summarized in a written final
report which is made available to the participants.
The MPI workshops provide a unique opportunity for government and academic
mathematicians to be exposed to real problems of current concern to industry.
Industrial participants not only benefit from progress on the solution to
the problems they pose, but they also establish new contacts with applied
mathematicians. Planning for the next MPI workshop, which will also be
hosted by the University of Delaware, is currently underway.
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