2006-2007 Seminar Series

Joint Seminar - MITACS, Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Physics and Computer Science

Abstract

The typical student, or member of the public at large, often believes that mathematics is the domain of a bunch of unusual people locked away in some corner of a university some place. And, for the realms of (relatively) pure mathematics (whatever that might be :-) ), they might be right.

However, math doesn't just occur at universities. Applying mathematical techniques to solve tangible problems is a very active practice within the business world. Individuals with expertise in fields such as probability, statistics, differential equations, computational geometry, and machine learning (to name but a few) are very hot commodities right now - as long as they can adapt to the industrial environment.

In this talk, I am going to describe what it is like to do "Math for Millions", math when millions of dollars of investment capital are on the line, math when multi-million dollar decisions are made based on your equations. Using high-level examples of the types of problems I am asked to solve, I will focus on techniques used in "production mathematics" to try to give the audience a greater appreciation for the experience of doing math when the answer *must* be right.

About The Speaker

David Callele, B.E. (Electrical), M.Sc. (Computer Science), P.Eng. David is an electronics engineer and computer scientist with 20 years of professional experience. Familiar with almost every aspect of the operations of customer-focused organizations committed to the delivery of superior high-technology products and services, David specializes in helping the customer determine what they really need, then delivering it.

David's diverse experience includes telecommunications (core and access), packet-switching, computer-telephony integration, video game development, software engineering, and new product R&D. Currently a member of the team at Solido Design Automation, David has been an employee, an employer, a consultant, an entrepreneur, and an academic.