主 题: Why Business needs Mathematicians: The MITACS experience
报告人: Ｊ．Brookes (加拿大 MITACS主任)
时 间: 2006-03-23 下午 4:30 - 5:30
地 点: 理科一号楼 1364
Abstract of Talk by Jim Brookes
“Why Business needs Mathematicians: The MITACS experience"
There is a large untapped opportunity for business to work with mathematicians on issues that are critical to a company\'s bottom line. MITACS is a Canadian research network in the mathematical sciences that funds leading research involving university researchers, their graduate students and companies in Canada. The MITACS experience in Canada is that typically companies don\'t understand the opportunities for mathematical models and tools to address many of their business issues. Equally, university professors in the mathematical sciences often don\'t fully understand the contribution that they could make to addressing industry problems. MITACS has introduced programs which bring university researchers together with industry, and discovered that there are an almost limitless number of opportunities for multi-disciplinary research involving mathematics.
This talk will describe the type of problems that companies face which cannot easily be addressed without mathematical models and technologies. Examples will be provided of the benefits that companies experience when they are able to leverage mathematical expertise. There will also be a discussion of the substantial benefits to University professor’s research programs from collaborating with companies. The invaluable experiences for graduate students who are involved with these applied research programs will also be discussed. The programs and methods which MITACS uses to connect university researchers with their industry counterparts will be described.
About MITACS
MITACS brings together academia, industry and the public sector to develop cutting edge mathematical tools vital to our knowledge-based economy. To improve Canada’s international competitiveness, our research focuses on five key sectors of the economy: Biomedical & Health; Environment & Natural Resources; Information Processing; Risk & Finance; and Communication, Networks & Security.
MITACS works with organizations to identify their challenges, find scientists with the expertise necessary to address these challenges and provide significant funding towards research and innovative solutions. However, MITACS generates benefits that reach far beyond these relationships. Out of these collaborations, new technologies emerge that transform the way we live. Career opportunities arise that keep trained personnel in Canada. And lasting partnerships between academic and industrial researchers create avenues for development in both communities. In short, MITACS plants healthy seeds in many areas of Canadian life, contributing in a myriad of ways to its social and economic growth.
Biography for Jim Brookes
Jim has been the Chief Operating Officer of MITACS for the last three years. Jim is responsible for the day to day management of the network and leads a team of professionals located across Canada. Prior to working for MITACS, Jim was an Executive in the Canadian telecommunications sector for many years where he held positions in general management, business development, financial planning and marketing. Jim has a B.A. and M.A. in Economics from Simon Fraser University and also has served on the Board of Directors of many not-for-profit and for-profit organizations.
