This summer North Carolina State University ran a really neat workshop that involved mathematical and statistics modeling. I am always interested in how people are advancing students in applied math and statistics. The website (see below) for the workshop describes the objective as,
“The objective of the workshop is to expose graduate students in mathematics, engineering, and statistics to challenging and exciting real-world problems arising in industrial and government laboratory research. The students also learn about the team approach to problem solving.â€
Real-world problems and a team approach to problem solving are the important things listed in my opinion. There is not enough interest in our fields and I personally believe that is because there aren’t enough people trying to recruit people into the subjects. One way thing that I believe is an integral tool in building interest is showing how the fields of math and statistics apply to the real world. That is one of the main reasons that I fell in love with mathematics as an undergraduate. While some people are born math lovers some of the rest of us have to be converted. My hat’s off to workshops like this one at NC State that highlight the applications of mathematics and statistics in the real world.
The procedure of the workshop was to team up students with the scientists and engineers that deal with the real world problems in their work. The problems that were given to them were to make some advancement in the field in which they worked. There were a couple mentors for each group.
I was also impressed that they didn’t require any experience to apply, just commitment. I like it when programs are open to anyone who may want to try out a little math or stats in the real world.
To read for yourself about the workshop visit the webpage at http://www.ncsu.edu/crsc/imsm/index.php