New report highlights the role of math and computational science in industrial innovation

The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) is pleased to announce the release of its latest report on Mathematics in Industry.

Mathematical and computational sciences have many applications in industry, some that have dramatic effects on the bottom line of companies, and others that simply allow organizations to function efficiently in the 21st-century data-rich marketplace. A newly-developed technology is not confined to the group or company that designs it, but contributes to the enrichment of science as a whole.

Mathematical scientists in industry work in interdisciplinary team environments, with mathematical methods and successes often attributed to the larger dominant discipline of the team or research group. The goal of this report, which was funded by the National Science Foundation, is to underscore the essential role of mathematics in these diverse disciplines, and to help raise awareness of the value of mathematics in industry. The report is a combination of focus group meetings with industrial scientists, online surveys of recent doctoral degree recipients, and onsite interviews with over 50 senior scientists and managers from dozens of corporations.

It includes insights from a total of 145 mathematical and computational scientists, encompassing a broad range of professions and disciplines.

The centerpiece of the report is a set of case studies developed through interviews with scientists from 14 major industrial sectors, and describing various applications including business analytics and optimization, manufacturing design and virtual prototyping, quantitative drug design, financial risk analysis, production planning and supply chain management, and information retrieval and data mining.

Students wanting to learn about the various applications of mathematics, educators attempting to prepare them for non-academic jobs in the field, and industry professionals seeking to explain the significance of mathematical methods will find value in this report. In addition to exploring the skills and traits that are needed to succeed in the fast-paced, multidisciplinary, production-oriented environment in industry, it emphasizes the need to better connect academic, government, and industrial scientists, and match education to the real-world demands of the workplace.

Provided by Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics