News Release

U of Minnesota's Institute for Mathematics receives funding for five new math postdoctoral fellows

Program is form of economic development during tough times

Grant and Award Announcement

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) at the University of Minnesota received funding for five new math postdoctoral fellows as part of a new National Science Foundation (NSF) initiative to create jobs for talented young mathematicians. The program creates 45 new one- and two-year positions for highly trained mathematical scientists at the seven NSF funded mathematics institutes.

"This program is a form of economic development," said Fadil Santosa, director of the IMA. "During these times, many universities are canceling job searches, which limit the number of positions available for new PhDs and people completing postdoctoral training. This stifles scientific training in our next generation and will make it more difficult for the United States to remain competitive in the future. For the mathematical science community, this has meant almost 400 lost positions for recent PhDs."

Training these young scientists represents a long-term investment, he added. Postdocs typically spend five years in graduate education, often with some support from state or federal funds. "It is critical that we hold onto this talent in the United States since they are primed to make significant contributions to their fields."

Nationally, more than 750 applications were submitted for the Institutes' 45 positions. "Being able to offer these jobs allows us to keep these highly trained people in the workforce and is a great boon for mathematics and for our society," Santosa said.

Two of the IMA's postdocs will study at the University and collaborate with university faculty and the IMA's visiting experts. The other three will take industrial internships at General Motors, Schlumberger and Telcordia Technologies. They will work on developing new manufacturing technologies and methods for managing large, distributed ad hoc networks. "These positions contribute to the economy by improving these companies' competitive advantage."

###

The Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) was founded at the University of Minnesota in 1982 as a result of a competitive national process. It fosters interdisciplinary research between mathematics, other science disciplines, and industry in order to find solutions to important scientific and technological problems. The IMA is funded primarily by the National Science Foundation.


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.