Dr. Mac Hyman

Los Alamos National Labs

President, S.I.A.M.

Mac Hyman is the president of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and the leader of the Mathematical Modeling and Analysis Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He received his BS from Tulane University and his PhD from the Courant Institute of Mathematics Sciences at NYU. His research interests include mathematical biology, nonlinear dynamical systems, and the numerical solution of differential equations. When away from his day job, he is a dancer, plays (at) the piano, and spends as much time as he can skiing off the top of mountains in northern New Mexico.
http://math.lanl.gov/~mac/

Dr. Hyman will be presenting "Good Choices for a Great Career in Applied Mathematics" on Saturday morning at 11:15 AM.

Abstract:
Today's scientific world is experiencing a paradigm shift where the sophistication of mathematical models, the accuracy and efficiency of numerical algorithms, the robustness of computer software, and the power of computation have become so great that numerical simulations are now considered a third pillar, along with theory and experiment, in the triad of tools used for scientific discovery.

The rate of advances in these fields, and our ability to simulate complex physical systems, will increasingly be the limiting factors in our ability to solve many of our most pressing scientific challenges. I will describe recent advances in mathematical models, numerical algorithms, software, and hardware that have allowed computer simulations of complex multidisciplinary problems to have unprecedented impact in guiding scientific discoveries.

The choices scientists make in planning for a career in mathematical modeling will impact them for a lifetime. I will describe some universal distinguishing traits of good career choices that can guild decisions in education, choice of profession, and job opportunities to increase your chances of having a great career with long-term sustained accomplishments.