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                  Fields-MITACS Industrial Problem-Solving 
                    Workshop (FMIPW) 
                    August 11-15, 2008 
                    Fields Institute, 222 College Street, Toronto
                   
                    Organizers:  Sean Bohun (UOIT), Huihui Dai (City 
                      Univ. HK),  
                      (Huaxiong Huang (York), Roderick Melnik (Wilfrid Laurier), 
                      JF Williams (SFU) 
                      Scientific Committee: Sean Bohun (UOIT), Chris Bose 
                      (UVic), 
                      Barbara Keyfitz (Fields), Huaxiong Huang (York), 
                      Roderick Melnik (Wilfrid Laurier), Nilima Nigam (McGill) 
                       
                      Roderick Wong (City Univ. HK) 
                   
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            History and mission statement
            Fields Institute for Mathematical Sciences:  
              Founded in 1992, the Fields Institute plays a central role in ``promoting 
              contact and collaboration between professional mathematicians and 
              the increasing number of users of mathematics". It supports 
              research in pure and applied mathematics and statistics. Thematic 
              programs of international interest, academic workshops, and prizes 
              are organized by the Institute.  
             Of specific interest to the business community is the Commercial 
              and Industrial Mathematics program. This program seeks to develop 
              synergistic links between mathematicians and industrial partners. 
              The Fields-MITACS Industrial Problem-Solving Workshop (FMIPW) is 
              a new initiative in this direction. 
             MITACS
            MITACS leads Canada's effort in the generation, application and 
              commercialization of new mathematical tools and methodologies within 
              a world-class research program. The network initiates and fosters 
              linkages with industrial, governmental, and not-for-profit organizations 
              that require mathematical technologies to deal with problems of 
              strategic importance to Canada. 
             MITACS helps link academia, industry and the public sector, with 
              a view to developing cutting edge mathematical tools vital to a 
              knowledge-based economy. It sponsors research partnerships, industrial 
              interchanges, workshops, and training programs.  
              
            What the workshop is about: 
            
             
              Objectives:  
               The objective of the FMIPW is to connect industries with faculty, 
                postdocs and graduate students who have expertise in industrial 
                case-studies. This interaction is fostered in the specific context 
                of a problem-solving session over 5 days. The case-studies in 
                question have a significant mathematical or statistical content. 
               The interaction between industry and academia has many potential 
                benefits for both. Academics learn about interesting potential 
                research problems and find application for their existing tools. 
                Industries get access to some of the most experienced mathematical 
                modellers and problem-solvers on the continent.  
              Format: 
              The FMIPW will occur over 5 days. Participants will include between 
                36-50 academic experts (including mathematicians and statisticians), 
                and experts from industry. On the first day, the industrial sponsors 
                will present their problem statements. The academic experts will 
                divide into teams of 6-10 people each, with one team assigned 
                to each problem. The teams spend the next 3 days collaborating 
                on solutions to their problem, and present their solution on the 
                final day of the workshop. 
               
              Deliverables: 
              At the end of the week, the academic experts make a presentation 
                consisting of the problem restatement and their solution. This 
                is a summary of results; the teams also prepare reports for the 
                industrial sponsors.  
             
             
              What's in it for the participating company: 
            
             The intellectual dedication of many expert problem-solvers during 
              the workshop to the phenomenon of interest to the company yields 
              many benefits. These range from partial or complete solutions to 
              the problem of interest, to long-term collaboration between the 
              companies and the participating academics. The forum is an informal 
              but intensive opportunity for companies to take advantage of the 
              mathematical and scientific computing expertise of participating 
              researchers. 
             Often the academic reformulation and solution of the problem enables 
              the company to find inexpensive in-house strategies. Similar workshops 
              in Europe and North America have saved participating companies hundreds 
              of thousands of dollars. 
             In addition, the academic experts typically use state-of-the-art 
              scientific and technological tools, which may prove useful to the 
              company in other contexts as well. 
             The workshop also serves as a mechanism for recruitment of talented 
              graduate students; the company sponsors can watch this pool of potential 
              employees in action! 
            Why do academic experts participate? 
            
            The potential benefits of the FMIPW to professional mathematicians 
              involved are myriad. They range from an exposure to interesting 
              mathematical problems arising outside the confines of academia to 
              an opportunity to try new scientific tools in novel application 
              areas. Previous workshops have seen such involvement turn into long-term 
              collaborations, often leading to journal publications and new research 
              directions. 
            Commitment of FMIPW:
            The Fields Institute and MITACS will provide the academic expertise 
              and infrastructure for this workshop. The recruitment of appropriate 
              faculty and graduate students to best meet the needs of the problems 
              will be done by the Fields Institute.  
            Commitment of industrial sponsors:
             Each participating company contributes a problem with mathematical 
              or statistical content for discussion during the workshop. They 
              also commit a representative to participate in the workshop during 
              the problem-solving phase. The company may sponsor part of the FMIPW 
              through a one-time or ongoing financial contribution. 
               
             
            
            Other 
              Western Canada Study Groups http://www.pims.math.ca/ipsw/ipsw_previous.html 
              UK Math-in-Medicine Study Groups http://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/ociam/Study-Groups/ 
              and  
              Mathematical Problems in Industry http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Depts/Math/News/MPI2003/MPIsite/ 
              This year's UK Study Groups in Bath: http://www.bath.ac.uk/math-sci/bics/conferences/esgi.html 
            Participant List
            
               
                | Fullname | 
                University Name | 
               
               
                | Altalli, Rajaa | 
                Northeastern University | 
               
               
                | An, James | 
                Mapleridge Capital Corporation | 
               
               
                | Anderssen, Bob | 
                CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences | 
               
               
                | Arino, Julien | 
                University of Manitoba | 
               
               
                | Barford, Tom | 
                Mapleridge Capital Corporation | 
               
               
                | Bautista, Maurino | 
                Rochester Institute of Technology | 
               
               
                | Bocar Amadou, Wane | 
                Laval University | 
               
               
                | Bohun, C. Sean | 
                UOIT | 
               
               
                | Breward, Chris | 
                Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford | 
               
               
                | Butt, Nabeel | 
                University of Western Ontario | 
               
               
                | Cai, Zongxi | 
                City University of Hong Kong | 
               
               
                | Caponnetto, Andrea | 
                City University of Hong Kong | 
               
               
                | Cara, Mirela | 
                York University | 
               
               
                | Caudillo-Mata, Luz Angélica | 
                Center for the Mathematical Research (CIMAT) | 
               
               
                | Chadam, John | 
                University of Pittsburgh | 
               
               
                | Cisneros, Myriam | 
                Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo | 
               
               
                | Cottrell, David | 
                McGill University | 
               
               
                | Dai, Hui-Hui | 
                City University of Hong Kong | 
               
               
                | De la Rosa, David | 
                Centre of Mathematics Research CIMAT | 
               
               
                | Diaz Bobadilla, Irma | 
                University of Regina | 
               
               
                | Findlay, Justin | 
                University of Ontario Institute of Technology | 
               
               
                | Flint, Ortho | 
                University of Western Ontario | 
               
               
                | Fritze, Peter | 
                Mapleridge Capital Corporation | 
               
               
                | Gao, Yunchuan | 
                Mapleridge Capital Corporation | 
               
               
                | Garcia Dominguez, Luis | 
                Hospital for Sick Kids | 
               
               
                | Gordon, Brian | 
                Mitacs | 
               
               
                | Heffernan, Jane | 
                York University | 
               
               
                | Hennessy, Matt | 
                UOIT | 
               
               
                | Hjorth, Poul G. | 
                Technical University of Denmark | 
               
               
                | Howell, Peter | 
                University of Oxford | 
               
               
                | Huang, Haohan | 
                York University | 
               
               
                | Huang, Huaxiong | 
                York University | 
               
               
                | Jiang, Xiamei | 
                University of Toronto at Scarborough | 
               
               
                | Kan, Kin Hung | 
                University of Western Ontario | 
               
               
                | Kane, Abdoulaye | 
                Laval University | 
               
               
                | Kavazovic, Zanin | 
                Université Laval | 
               
               
                | Keyfitz, Barbara | 
                University of Houston and Fields Institute | 
               
               
                | Khaykin, Roman | 
                York University | 
               
               
                | Kilgour, D. Marc | 
                Wilfrid Laurier University | 
               
               
                | Kitanov, Petko | 
                University of Guelph | 
               
               
                | Krywiak, Claudia | 
                MITACS | 
               
               
                | Labibi, Batool | 
                K. N. Toosi University of Technology | 
               
               
                | Ladipo, Kehinde | 
                Fields Institute | 
               
               
                | Lewis, Gregory | 
                University of Ontario Institute of Technology | 
               
               
                | Li, Jiawei | 
                York University | 
               
               
                | Madras, Neal | 
                York University | 
               
               
                | Marcotte, Odile | 
                CRM, Université de Montréal | 
               
               
                | McGuinness, Mark | 
                Victoria University | 
               
               
                | Melnik, Roderick | 
                Wilfrid Laurier University | 
               
               
                | Miura, Robert M | 
                New Jersey Institute of Technology University Heights | 
               
               
                | Moghadas, Seyed | 
                National Research Council Canada | 
               
               
                | Moore, Richard | 
                New Jersey Institute of Technology | 
               
               
                | Morfin Ramírez, Mario | 
                University of Toronto | 
               
               
                | Ockendon, John | 
                OCIAM Mathematical Institute | 
               
               
                | Orser, Brenda | 
                B.I.O. Letha Information Systems Inc. | 
               
               
                | Ortan, Alexandra | 
                McGill University | 
               
               
                | Pass, Brendan | 
                University of Toronto | 
               
               
                | Phillips, Joel | 
                McGill University | 
               
               
                | Pitcher, Ashley | 
                University of Oxford | 
               
               
                | Pourziaei, Bobby | 
                York University | 
               
               
                | Privault, Nicolas | 
                City University of Hong Kong | 
               
               
                | Qazi, Sanjive | 
                Gustavus Adolphus College | 
               
               
                | Qiao, Yun | 
                York University | 
               
               
                | Quenneville-Bélair, Vincent | 
                McGill University | 
               
               
                | Ross, David | 
                Rochester Institute of Technology | 
               
               
                | Sabbagh, Mohammad S. | 
                Isfahan University of Tech. | 
               
               
                | Salisbury, Thomas | 
                York University | 
               
               
                | Schilders, Wil | 
                NXP Semiconductors Research | 
               
               
                | Selkirk, Randall | 
                Mapleridge Capital Corporation | 
               
               
                | Shontz, Suzanne | 
                Pennsylvania State University | 
               
               
                | Sivaloganathan, Sivabal | 
                University of Waterloo | 
               
               
                | Sørensen, Mads Peter | 
                Technical University of Denmark | 
               
               
                | Sun, Wei Wei | 
                City University of Hong Kong | 
               
               
                | Tan, Yongji | 
                Fudan University | 
               
               
                | Tilley, Burt S. | 
                Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering | 
               
               
                | Tsui, Lung Kwan | 
                University of Pittsburgh | 
               
               
                | Vaidya, Naveen | 
                York University | 
               
               
                | Walker, Homer | 
                Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 
               
               
                | Warlow, Scott | 
                Manulife Financial | 
               
               
                | Wylie, Jonathan | 
                City University of Hong Kong | 
               
               
                | Zhang, Guoqing | 
                University of Windsor | 
               
               
                | Zhu, Bruce | 
                Mapleridge Capital Corporation | 
               
             
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