Graduate Studies in Industrial Math

564 NOTICES OF THE AMS VOLUME 43, NUMBER 5 Over the past several years the University of Minnesota, in conjunction with the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), has developed programs in industrial mathematics (both undergraduate and graduate) with strong links to local industries. The IMA has had a program of two-year industrial postdoctoral positions, with about four in residence each year. The duties of these postdocs include internship in an industrial setting, working under a specific mentor on specific problems, as well as participation in the regular IMA program. This relationship has deepened ties between the IMA and industry, as well as brought important problems from industry into the fabric of the regular program. These have been featured in a biweekly seminar in industrial mathematics, presented largely by these postdocs and their mentors. The success of this interaction led, last year, to the creation at the University of Minnesota of the Minnesota Center for Industrial Mathematics (MCIM), which now oversees all aspects of the involvement of academic mathematics in the industrial setting at Minnesota. One of the central concerns of the MCIM is to see this successful interaction broadened so as to include many universities which have developed, or which have interest in, similar programs. Thus, one of its first projects was to sponsor this workshop. It brought together over fifty mathematics faculty from such universities and industry researchers who have been working together with mathematics faculty and students. The goals of the workshop were: 1) To gain better understanding of the opportunities in industry for students who wish to pursue careers in industry. 2) To develop a document explaining to departments that wish to consider a graduate program in industrial mathematics what steps need to be taken. The publication of the National Research Council report “Graduate Education in Science and Engineering” in the fall of 1995 recommended, among other things, the broadening of the intellectual content of the Ph.D. by introducing more interdisciplinary courses and an increase in the diversity of skills acquired during this training by adding a minor to the course of study. These objectives were also perceived in a “Workshop on Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Education and Training” (June 5–6, 1995; World Wide Web: www.nsf.gov/ mps/workshop.htm), sponsored by the NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, which also suggested increased use of offcampus internships and other real-world experiences. The concept of industrial mathematics is not new. An extensive article published in the American Mathematical Monthly (1941), entitled “InAvner Friedman is director of the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) and the Minnesota Center for Industrial Mathematics (MCIM). He is also professor of mathematics at the University of Minnesota.