Table Of ContentNew ICMI Study Series
Alain Damlamian
José Francisco Rodrigues
Rudolf Sträßer E ditors
Educational
Interfaces between
Mathematics and
Industry
Report on an ICMI-ICIAM-Study
New ICMI Study Series
Volume 16
For furthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/6351
Published under the auspices of the International Commission on Mathematical
Instruction under the general editorship of
Abraham Arcavi, President Ferdinando Arzarello, Secretary-General
Information on the ICMI Study programme and on the resulting publications
can be obtained at the ICMI website http://www.mathunion.org/ICMI/ or by
contacting the ICMI Secretary-General, whose email address is available on that
website.
Alain Damlamian José Francisco Rodrigues
•
Rudolf Sträßer
Editors
Educational Interfaces
between Mathematics
and Industry
Report on an ICMI-ICIAM-Study
123
Editors
AlainDamlamian Rudolf Sträßer
Université Paris-EstCréteil Val de Marne FB12Mathe,Inst.DidaktikderMathematik
Créteil Cedex,Val-de-Marne Universität Gießen
France Gießen
Germany
JoséFrancisco Rodrigues
Universidade deLisboa/CMAF-FCUL
Lisboa
Portugal
ISSN 1387-6872
ISBN 978-3-319-02269-7 ISBN 978-3-319-02270-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-02270-3
SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013953250
(cid:2)SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2013
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Foreword I
It is a great pleasure to introduce to the community the fruits of this novel study,
the first to combine the expertise of ICMI on education in the mathematical
sciences with knowledge coming from the ICIAM community of the ways
mathematics is used in industry. The idea of starting such a cooperation between
ICMI andICIAMarose while Rolf Jeltsch was Presidentof ICIAM, and Rolf has
in addition contributed to the project through his involvement with one of the
Working Groups. Let me use this foreword to acknowledge his leadership.
The dedication and the persistence of the many people who worked on this
project deserve the thanks of all of us. Their names are repeated in the prologue
and conclusions, but I would like to single out for my special thanks the editorial
teamofAlainDamlamian,JoséFranciscoRodrigues,andRudolfSträßer.Theyare
the ones responsible for getting the job done, despite obstacles ranging from the
usual procrastination of authors to the unusual eruption of a volcano. Despite the
difference in cultures between ICMI and ICIAM, and the fact that neither com-
munity had previously focused on this precise question, the study has come
together in rather short order to produce a work that outlines the challenges of
teaching mathematics in such a way that students are ready to use it outside of
mathematics. The study reaches some important conclusions, and lays the
groundwork for further studies.
Asanygoodscientistknows,oneneedsdatainorderforknowledgetoadvance,
andthisbookprovides,alongwithitsanalysis,alibraryofdataintheformofcase
studies, examples of existing programs, and working group reports. The data
include examples from industries where one expects to see mathematics used
extensively, and in sophisticated ways, such as aerospace and finance, and from
industries where the importance of mathematical understanding might come as a
surprise, such as nursing or retail sales. Incidentally, one will also find an inter-
nationalperspective,asourtwosocieties,bothinternational,recruitedcontributors
from industrialized and developing countries alike, from economic leaders, and
from those attempting to catch up. Whether browsing the volume or reading it
systematically, the reader will be introduced to the many dimensions of ‘‘mathe-
matical education for industry,’’ as different contributors present varied experi-
ences,onhowmathematicsisusedandonhowmathematicsistaught,andonthe
relation between these two things.
v
vi ForewordI
The readers for whom this book is intended—applied mathematicians of all
stripes, mathematics educators, and public officials interested in the educational
andeconomicdevelopmentoftheircountries—willallfindmuchtolearnfromits
pages.Theyarenotlikelytofindtheanswerstotheirquestionsneatlyspelledout,
nor do the authors claim to have produced conclusive results, organized and
summarizedinsomeoptimalway.Thatisaprojectforthefuture.Butafuturethat
improves the education of young people who will work as mathematicians in
industry,orwhowillworkas‘‘analysts,’’‘‘scientists,’’‘‘specialists,’’‘‘engineers,’’
orwhowillworkatajobwhosetitlehasnorelationtomathematicsortoscience,
has been brought measurably closer by the completion of this volume.
Columbus, Ohio, May 30, 2013 Barbara Lee Keyfitz
President, ICIAM
Foreword II
Let me begin with congratulations to the Co-chairs of this ICMI-study. Not only
didtheyovercomeactivevolcanoesandgeographicchallenges,butalsotheyhave
managed to bring together two distinct communities and produced a coherent
volume that integrates their views, their research, and their aspirations.
Thanks must also go to those who had the vision to initiate this study. ICMI
welcomed the opportunity to engage professionally with the Industrial Mathe-
matics community. The result is both rich and productive.
Readers of this volume will quickly realize that a repeating theme is diversity:
diversity of communities, diversity of mathematics, diversity of goals, and
diversity of actions. It would be easy to quickly conclude that there is little
common ground in this theme and abandon the project. Fortunately, the partici-
pants of Study 20 did not take this path. Using ‘‘boundary objects’’ as a starting
point, mutual interests were identified and their relevance to each of the two
communitiesexplored.Thekeyideaofmodelingisaprimeexampleofaconcept
with a powerful role in both industry and mathematics education.
But there is a wide issue being brought into place in this process. As an
international community, a central concern is bringing together different cultures,
betheyethnic,social,academic,linguistic,orotherwise.TheICMIStudy20isan
exemplification of this process.
Thus, it is with pleasure that I commend the present volume to the research
communities of ICIAM and ICMI. In doing so, ICMI willingly takes up the
challenge of supporting further research into educational issues in industrial
mathematics.
Ferdinando Arzarello
vii
Prologue
At the ICIAM Congress in Zurich (July 17–20, 2007), the President of the Por-
tuguese National Committee of Mathematics (CNM)1 made a formal proposal to
theICIAMBoardforanewICMIStudyentitled‘‘EducationalInterfacesbetween
Mathematics and Industry.’’ He had already approached ICMI regarding it and
hoped for a joint support. The ICIAM Board accepted the proposal enthusiasti-
cally. This was how the ICMI-Study 20 started.
Several other people and institutions felt the need for such a Study, in partic-
ular,asaconsequenceofarecentOECDreportonMathematicsandIndustry.So,
ICMI nominated Rudolf Sträßer as Co-chair while ICIAM proposed Alain Dam-
lamian. José Francisco Rodrigues joined the team as organizer of the Study
Conference.
This was the beginning of a very interesting adventure which none of us had
expected would last that long. First were the meetings of the International Pro-
gramme Committee in Óbidos, sponsored by the Centro Internacional de
Matemática (CIM) (in October 2008, to draft the Discussion Document for the
Study)andinParis(inNovember2009,toplantheStudyConference).TheStudy
Conference itself, originally planned in Lisbon in late April 2010, had to be
postponed to October 2010 because of the serious travel disruptions provoked by
the Icelandic volcano eruption. There was also a follow-up conference in Macau
(in November 2011).
We hopethat theresultsofthis study(theLisbonConference Proceedingsand
the present volume) made the journey worth the while.
ThisStudywouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthededicationandsupportof
many individuals and organizations. We would like to acknowledge all partici-
pants of the conferences in Lisbon and Macau, the contributors to the Lisbon
Proceedings,and tothisbook. Our special thanksgo inparticulartothe members
of the IPC (A. Jofré, B. R. Hodgson, B. Lutz-Wetphal, F. Santosa, G. Kaiser,
G. Fitzsimons, H. Aslaksen, H. van der Kooij, J. Carvalho e Silva, J. M. Gambi,
T-T.Li,N.Nigam,R.Jeltsch,S.GarfunkelandT.Mitsui),totheCo-editorsofthe
Proceedings and Co-organizers of the Lisbon conference (A. Araújo, A. Azevedo
1 Asitturnedout,heisoneoftheCo-editorsofthisStudy.
ix
x Prologue
and A. Fernandes), and to the Co-organizers of the Macau meeting (R. Martins,
T. Qian and R. Cheng).
Among the institutions which supported and contributed to this study, in
addition to ICMI and ICIAM, we wish to acknowledge the Portuguese CIM and
FCT(FundaçãoparaaCiênciaeTecnologia),aswellastheUniversitiesofLisbon
and of Macau.
Weapologizeforanyomissionsandmistakesstillpresentinthisprologueand
in the book as a whole.
Paris, 1 March 2013 Alain Damlamian
Lisboa José Francisco Rodrigues
Gießen/Münster Rudolf Sträßer
