Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC) shows keys to the Master’s Degree in Mathematical and Computational Engineering
In the middle of this year, the UC Institute of Mathematical and Computational Engineering began to teach the Master’s in Mathematical and Computational Engineering for the first time. The program responds to the need to have a greater volume of specialized professionals in this area, and also to the mission of developing cutting-edge interdisciplinary training in applied mathematics and computing theory that produces concrete scientific, technological, and social changes.
For this reason, the master seeks to contribute to the advanced training of national and foreign students, in order for them to acquire solid knowledge in mathematical foundations and their application to various problems through mathematical modeling and analysis.
Today, the application for admission to the first semester of 2023 is open, which will end on December 14 and seeks to attract students interested in a discipline that stands out for establishing bridges between different areas and creating more robust methods for solutions to complex problems, in connection with society and industry.
Federico Fuentes, doctor in computer science, engineering and mathematics from the University of Texas in Austin (USA) and academic of the master’s degree, explains the wide potential that mathematical engineering has shown to have.
“What is known here as mathematical engineering refers more to mathematics applied to engineering problems. It covers, for example, everything that corresponds to how to describe physical phenomena using mathematical equations in such a way that, once you have an adequate model, you can make predictions about them. Making predictions about what can happen is obviously a fundamental aspect of solving problems not only in engineering, but also in science in general. This is, for example, what happens in everything related to the study of climate”, indicates the academic, whose specialty covers areas such as numerical analysis and fluid dynamics.
As Federico Fuentes indicates, the models developed by professionals trained in mathematical and computational engineering are today applied in a wide range of disciplines . Among them, we can mention the processing of the enormous volumes of data generated by the study of distant and enormous galaxies, the mapping of genes and the interpretation of biological data through bioinformatics. In fact, in a country like England, those who have graduated as mathematical engineers have made careers in areas as diverse as Formula One car design and next-generation robots.
Federico Fuentes adds that, precisely, the interdisciplinary nature is one of the essential features of applied mathematics, since it connects various areas that sometimes traditionally remain separate. “But they could even be considered as a discipline on its own that combines elements from different areas, such as physics with mathematics or biology with mathematics. If there is any common bond, it is to translate a problem into mathematical language and study it from mathematics” , he explained.
One of the distinctive features of the Master in Mathematical and Computational Engineering is its research nature. When applying, candidates must have already contacted one of the master’s professors -including experts in astrophysics, operations management, database theory and scientific computing, among other areas- and have endorsement from one of those academics to develop a topic that is of interest to them. Already in the first semester, students have a research seminar course, where they explore what it means to do a job of this type and then start in the second semester with the process of identifying -with the support of their professor- the problems associated with their own research and propose a roadmap to address them.
For example, in the first generation of the Master’s degree, the student Pablo Rademacher is already developing a project related to inverse problems and numerical analysis together with Professor Carlos Sing Long (IMC) . One can also mention the case of Juan Caracci, who works with the academic José Verschae (IMC) on research linked to the intersection between optimization and artificial intelligence.
“There is a lot of job demand for the skills that are developed with this master’s degree. Currently, many engineers are needed precisely with these abilities of critical thinking, of abstraction, of finding patterns. This is the type of talent that is being generated through a master’s degree of this style, where students have to learn, precisely, to reason about what is happening, generate a model and, in the end, solve the problem they are trying to model. ” , says Federico Fuentes.
The market appeal of these skills can be seen in a number of areas. “Today everything related to data science is very active, but in reality these skills go far beyond their application in that field. In fact, in the United States, the type of content that this master’s degree has is what practically the entire technology sector is asking for ,” he adds.
Federico Fuentes, doctor in computer science, engineering and mathematics from the University of Texas in Austin (USA) and academic of the master’s degree, explains the wide potential that mathematical engineering has shown to have.
A step before the doctorate
The master’s research approach aims to nurture students’ ability to develop research in interdisciplinary contexts and to propose and implement innovative solutions to complex problems in multiple areas where mathematical and computational engineering is used today. For example, there is the public sector where logistical problems arise in the planning of transport routes or the management of medical shifts in health.
Meanwhile, in the private area are the banks and all the applications of the financial world in general.
But beyond the occupational field that is open to students of the Master’s in Mathematical and Computational Engineering -which also includes research centers in fields such as Physics and Astronomy-, this program can also fulfill another objective.
“There are people who may want to study a doctorate and this master’s degree can serve as a springboard to reach that postgraduate degree. Having a research master’s degree that generates a publication is a very useful tool when applying for a doctorate at the same Catholic University or even outside of Chile” , says Federico Fuentes.
From this point of view, it is expected that the program will capture more and more interest not only from students in Chile, but also in the rest of Latin America. “I would say that in the region there is no other master’s degree that is similar to him, since he is quite ambitious. It covers a lot of territory and that is good, whether one is only interested in learning or also to prepare for an eventual doctorate or to have more tools to solve problems in a more work environment”, indicates Fuentes .
In fact, having a research character from its origin makes it easier for students to have an incentive directly linked to their project when choosing the elective courses offered by the program, which cover the following areas: algorithms, combinatorics and optimization ; scientific computation and numerical analysis; statistical learning and data science; and mathematical reasoning.
“Being one of the only programs in Latin America with this type of content, it can be attractive both for engineers who are more inclined to the theoretical part and, at the same time, for mathematicians who want to do more practical things. That is why I believe that there will be an increase in the number of students from other countries who will come to take this master’s degree” , says Federico Fuentes.
In this sense, the academic stresses that Chile is a very “good place to take the step towards a doctorate, because it is one of the best, if not the best, country to do research in Latin America, so the professors are better connected in the world of research and that makes it easier for students to take the leap” .