The Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics
Mathematics in an interactive, interdisciplinary environment
Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics (PACM) is home to researchers who create innovative and quantitative approaches and apply them to tackling today's unsolved problems in science, economics, and engineering.
PACM is home to 11 core faculty members, each of whom holds a joint appointment in another research department such as mathematics, geosciences, electrical engineering or astrophysical sciences. Another 48 faculty members are associate members of PACM.
Research associated with PACM includes the following:
- The development of novel bioinformatics algorithms for interpreting the results of high-throughput gene function and regulation studies.
- The creation powerful computer simulation tools to model materials at the atomic level and to design new fuel materials on an atom-by-atom basis.
- Novel mathematical algorithms for tracking the unfolding of the universe after the Big Bang.
- Mathematical tools for understanding and controlling the movement of groups of independent agents such as robotic schooling fish.
- Technologies for discovering new exoplanets in our galaxy.
In addition to support of research projects, PACM funds the training and mentorship of young women in science through support of the Women in Mathematics (WAM) program, which brings about 50 students, post-doctoral researchers, and visiting lecturers to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton each summer. PACM also serves as a training ground for graduate and undergraduate students who wish to apply quantitative approaches to tackling scientific and technological hurdles.
"I view PACM as a unique meeting place and training ground where mathematics interacts with engineering and physical, biological and social science," said Peter Constantin, director of PACM and the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor in the Department of Mathematics. "It is important to emphasize the dual nature of this Interaction: Not only do the application areas gain from the impact of the powerful mathematical imagery and precision, but also mathematics gains from the renewed exposure to the problems of a changing world."