The Industrial Math/Stat Modeling Workshop for Grad Students

Sep 18

The Industrial Math/Stat Modeling (IMSM) Workshop for Grad Students is a fully funded 10 day research program for grad students in math, statistics, and computational sciences. Students use teamwork to tackle real world problems in industry and government laboratory research.

How the Program Works

You will be divided into groups of 5-7 to collaborate on projects presented by experienced scientists and engineers. Each team will have two mentors: a problem presenter and a faculty advisor.

My Experience

I worked in a group of 6 on a real problem being studied at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Everyone in our group had different areas of research. Our task was to develop 3-5 metrics that could be used to measure the effects of particulate matter from forest fires. We worked together for 8-10 hours a day, wrote a paper, and then presented our research on the final day of the program. The presentations were given to the full cohort as well as representatives from the companies and government agencies we conducted research for.

The Benefit

I was able to experience working on a real life problem in a new field. I learned how to collaborate with other researchers with different backgrounds. I also learned how to work on a team and was better prepared to apply for a job in industry or government if I chose to do so. We also had the opportunity to present our research at conferences as well as publish our paper.