International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Engineers design and build things. But, do practising engineers appreciate that mathematical technology lies at the heart of many software tools they use? Use finite element analysis software to design a bridge or an automobile wheel, and you rely on solvers of large sparse matrices and the theoretical infrastructure of weak forms of partial differential equations.

Many will be familiar, for example, with projects undertaken by the finite element package, Strand7, developed by G+D Computing which will be highlighted in a future Warrant Centre E-bulletin. Investigate heat and mass transfer in a power station boiler, and you need algorithms for computational fluid dynamics and numerical analysis.  These are just two examples, further abound.

In July this year, delegates can meet many of the famous people who developed this technology at the 5^th International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM 2003) at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The 27 invited speakers include Franco Brezzi of Italy, a pioneer in the finite element method; Henk van der Vorst of The Netherlands, world famous for sparse matrix solvers; Rupert Klein of Germany, an expert in climate change; and Tom Leighton of the USA, founder of the Internet company Akamai. Supplementing these international luminaries will be a full Congress program of nearly 2,000 presentations, including embedded meetings focusing on engineering mathematics, computational techniques, operations research and financial mathematics.

Industry Day on Tuesday 8 July will explore the application of mathematics in key sectors of industry - aeroplanes, high-speed boats and automobiles are three of the eight areas.

Congress Director Noel Barton says: “The Congress, which is only held every four years, will attract nearly 2,000 delegates, with about 30 per cent from Australia. Needless to say, this is likely to be the only time in our professional lives that the Congress will be held in Australia.”

“This is a wonderful opportunity to hear from those who will help develop the engineering tools of tomorrow.  No matter what your engineering field - control, signal processing, heat and mass transfer, solid mechanics, information technology or fluid mechanics, to name a few - ICIAM 2003 offers interesting presentations on new mathematical applications and technologies.”

For further information and to register, browse the comprehensive web site at www.iciam.org.

Complete train carriage constructed from plate/shell and beam elements in Strand7

Strand7 was used to conduct research into the response of the human torso, subject to manipulations typically used in physiotherapy

Images copyright G+D Computing Pty Ltd

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International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics