Mathematical careers outside of academia rarely carry a simple title of “mathematician.” Mathematics plays a major role in the bottom line of industrial organisations, and helps companies perform better in today’s data-driven marketplace.
A career in applied mathematics is more than just crunching numbers. It’s being able to use mathematics to solve real-life problems and make an impact in the world. Here are some of the varied and fascinating problems mathematicians are paid large salaries to solve:
- How can an airline use smarter scheduling to reduce costs of aircraft parking and engine maintenance? Or smarter pricing to maximise profit?
- Is ethanol a viable solution for the world’s dependence on fossil fuels? Can biofuel production be optimised to combat negative implications on the world’s economy and environment?
- How do we use major advances in computing power to incorporate knowledge about interactions between the oceans, the atmosphere and living ecosystems into models used to predict long-term change?
- How can automotive and aircraft companies test performance, safety, and ergonomics, while at the same time lowering the cost of construction and testing prototypes?
- A pharmaceutical company wants to search a very large database of proteins to find one that is similar in shape or activity to one they have discovered. What’s the most efficient way to do so?
- How might disease spread in populated areas in the event of a bioterrorism incident, and how would it be contained?
- Can we measure sentiment change as a result of social media shares, likes and comments?
- How do you design a robotic hand to grip a coin and drop it in a slot?
- How can you mathematically model the spread of a forest fire depending on weather, ground cover and type of trees?
- How can genome sequencing analysis help in making clinical decisions based on a personalised medicine approach?
- Can we provide insight to coastal communities about future sea level rise and the risk and likelihood of effects of climate related events on their communities?
Here are some examples of organisations that hire mathematicians and computational scientists:
- Academic institutions and research institutes
- Aerospace and transportation equipment manufacturers or service providers
- Agricultural economics, engineering and management
- Analytics and forecasting organizations
- Chemical or pharmaceutical manufacturers
- Communications services providers
- Computer information and software firms; established or start-ups
- Consumer products companies
- Energy systems firms
- Electronics and computer manufacturers
- Engineering research organisations
- Financial service and investment management firms
- Government labs, research offices and agencies
- Insurance companies
- Medical device companies
- Producers of petroleum and petroleum products
With Maths, there’s an exciting world of opportunities out there. Who said Maths is boring?
Source: www.siam.org Edited from original article
