“I like math a lot, but what can I do with it other than teach?”
In order to enhance the educational, research, and professional experiences for
students and faculty at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and to help make
contacts with business and industry, the Center for Industrial Mathematics and
Statistics (CIMS) was established at WPI in 1997. Faculty and students work on
research problems that come directly from companies and are of industrial and
mathematical significance. CIMS research activities have included projects
for mathematical sciences majors during the regular academic year, and
the WPI REU Program in Industrial Mathematics and Statistics, which is
supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and
our industrial partners. Here we give an overview of our experience with
the industrial research program, highlighting the processes, benefits, and
challenges.
Keywords
project, industrial math, statistics, student research,
business, industry, government
