Applied mathematical research topics arising from an industrial workshop

Since 1984, a special industrial mathematics workshop – the Mathematics-in-Industry Study Group – has operated in Australia on an annual basis. The study group has considered 63 topics from about 40 separate organizations. In many cases, the topics required the development of appropriate mathematical models in order to give the insights demanded by their industrial sponsors. In some cases, the topics required completely fresh approaches, thereby contributing to the development of new theories for various applications. This paper summarizes the operations of the study group, looks at the beneficial outcomes of the meetings, and presents some innovative work that has arisen from them. Examples addressed include: ultrafiltration, heat and mass transfer in a metal-processing furnace, a vibrocompaction problem, vibrations in automobile driveshafts, and airline crew scheduling.