Wednesday December 15, 2010

KAUST students will have the chance to work closely with some of the world's top mathematicians on real-life industry problems in January 2011.

The first KAUST Study Group in Mathematics for Industry, part of the upcoming Winter Enrichment Program (WEP), will involve 80 academics (from KAUST, Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics (OCCAM) and faculty from a selection of national and international universities) and industry experts.

KAUST Global Collaborative Research (GCR) and OCCAM organized the study group in collaboration with the Applied Mathematics and Computational Science (AMCS) division and KAUST Industry Collaboration Program (KICP).

Dating back to 1968, the study group concept has been adopted by universities all over the world. Past study groups have tackled problems in remarkably diverse areas: from the identification of biomarkers for exposure to environmental contaminants, and even an egg-turning model for the incubation of penguin eggs.

On the first day of this four-day program each company presents a brief summary of their business, a description of their problem and an account of their previous attempts to find a solution.

Mathematicians then break into problem defined groups, before beginning a series of brainstorming, modeling, and experimental sessions that involve between periods of energetic discussion and deep concentration. Often more experienced participants move from room to room, sharing their ideas before moving on to a different problem.

The final afternoon is reserved for a presentation of the results, while a full report of the work is written after the event and made publicly available.

While the final outcome is usually not a complete answer to the problem; it often results in the launch of a project or the production of new software.

Past industry participants have often left with enough information to decide whether they are ready to proceed on their own, or whether they would benefit from a more lasting association with one or more of the participating mathematicians.

The study group provides an excellent opportunity for graduate students to be involved in high-quality, real time discussion, alongside faculty members from KAUST, Oxford and other leading universities and industrial companies.

KAUST students, postdoctoral research fellows, researchers and faculty interested in experiencing the power of mathematics in solving industrial problems can register for the study group until the end of December.

For more information, please contact the academic coordinator, Dr. Ibrahim Hoteit.

Further information

• Winter Enrichment Program
• Global Collaborative Research
• KAUST Industrial Collaboration Program