C. Sean Bohun, assistant professor of mathematics at Penn State Mont Alto, recently attended the Canada-China Workshop on Industrial Mathematics in Hong Kong. Bohun received the invitation to present at this workshop based on his research collaboration with Canadian mathematicians and his work with Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems. For the last 10 years, Bohun has been involved with workshops that give people from the private and industrial sectors the opportunity to pose a question to a group of experts in a given field. Bohun works for a week as part of the team of experts to solve the problem.
In recent years, the importance of industrial mathematics has been realized by the Chinese mathematicians, and many Chinese mathematicians began collaborating with both American and Canadian colleagues. The aim of the workshop is to bring together mathematicians, applied scientists and engineers working in the field of industrial mathematics to provide a forum for the participants to meet and exchange ideas in an informal atmosphere. During this workshop, Bohun talked about his recent industrial collaboration concerning crystal growth.
Following the workshop, Bohun was invited to Nankai, China, to attend a meeting where the future of such collaborations was discussed. Only about 5 percent of the participants from the Hong Kong workshop were asked to attend the follow-up meeting in Nankai. These discussions were essential for deciding the future of such collaborations between China and the Western world.