Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

Developing Workforce with Mathematical Modeling Skills

Ariel Cintron-Arias, Ryan Nivens, Anant Godbole, Calvin B. Purvis

Abstract

Mathematicians have traditionally been a select group of academics that produce high-impact ideas allowing substantial results in several fields of science. Throughout the past 35 years, undergraduates enrolling in mathematics or statistics have represented a nearly constant rate of approximately 1% of bachelor degrees awarded in the United States. Even within STEM majors, mathematics or statistics only constitute about 6% of undergraduate degrees awarded nationally. However, the need for STEM professionals continues to grow and the list of needed occupational skills rests heavily in foundational concepts of mathematical modeling curricula, where the interplay of data, computer simulation and underlying theoretical frameworks takes center stage. It is not viable to expect a majority of these STEM undergraduates to pursue a double-major that includes mathematics. Here we present our solution, some early results of implementation, and a vision for possible nationwide adoption.

Developing Workforce with Mathematical Modeling Skills

Abstract

Mathematicians have traditionally been a select group of academics that produce high-impact ideas allowing substantial results in several fields of science. Throughout the past 35 years, undergraduates enrolling in mathematics or statistics have represented a nearly constant rate of approximately 1% of bachelor degrees awarded in the United States. Even within STEM majors, mathematics or statistics only constitute about 6% of undergraduate degrees awarded nationally. However, the need for STEM professionals continues to grow and the list of needed occupational skills rests heavily in foundational concepts of mathematical modeling curricula, where the interplay of data, computer simulation and underlying theoretical frameworks takes center stage. It is not viable to expect a majority of these STEM undergraduates to pursue a double-major that includes mathematics. Here we present our solution, some early results of implementation, and a vision for possible nationwide adoption.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 8 sections, 4 figures, 3 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. STEM Bachelor's Degrees Awarded
  3. Selected STEM Occupations
  4. STEM Education & the Modeling Process
  5. Educational Resources in Mathematical Modeling
  6. Mathematical Modeling Minor
  7. Case Study: Preparation of Data-Driven Mathematical Scientists for the Workforce
  8. Final Remarks

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: Timeline of remarkable innovations over three decades. These accomplishments are interdisciplinary, bringing together professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
  • Figure 2: The top panel depicts the number of STEM Bachelor's degrees awarded in the United States, from 1971 through 2016 nces. Seven STEM areas are identified: Agriculture and natural resources (squares); Biological and biomedical sciences (diamonds); Computer and information sciences (downward triangles); Engineering (upward triangles); Engineering technologies (right triangles); Mathematics and statistics (left triangles); Physical sciences and science technologies (double triangles). The lower panel displays longitudinal percentages of undergraduate mathematics degrees awarded in the United States, across all disciplines.
  • Figure 3: Schematics for the process of science scienceprocess and the modeling process bankstran09GAIMME are displayed on the left and right panel, respectively.
  • Figure 4: Mathematics minor course sequences resembling two concentrations offered at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). The left-side panel resembles the concentration in Computational Applied Mathematics, while the right-side panel mimics the Statistics concentration.