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Mathematica Trainer and Consultant: Michael D. Weiss
Address
7797 Heatherton Lane
Potomac, MD 20854-3264
email: mdweiss@verizon.net
phone: 301-299-3144
Background
Dr. Michael D. Weiss has been actively involved with Mathematica since
1995. He has used Mathematica in his own research to study the economic
and environmental implications of precision agriculture. He offers
training and consultation services to government, academic, and other
institutions; private industry; and individuals.
Dr. Weiss holds a B.A. in mathematics from Brandeis University, a Ph.D.
in mathematics from Brown University, and a postdoctoral M.A. in
economics from the University of Maryland, College Park. He has
served as a mathematics professor at Wayne State University, as an
operations research analyst in private industry, and as a staff member
(1976-97) of the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, where his research, both theoretical and applied,
emphasized the application of mathematics to economic problems. During
his government tenure, he served regularly as a consultant on
mathematical methods to government and university researchers. During
1998-99, he was Adjunct Associate Professor in mathematics at the
University of Maryland University College.
Since 1992, Dr. Weiss has served as a Visiting Lecturer of the Society
for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). During 1993-98, he was
President of SIAM's Washington-Baltimore Section.
Dr. Weiss's research interests and publications encompass both theory
and applications. They have included such subjects as ergodic theory,
the theory of fuzzy sets, the economic theory of behavior under risk
(from a functional analysis perspective), food safety and the economics
of information, spatial statistics, nonlinear and chaotic dynamics, and
computer modeling in agricultural economics.
Dr. Weiss's career has been profiled in several "careers in mathematics"
publications of the Mathematical Association of America as well as in
Who's Who in America. He now serves as an independent consultant.
Consulting Information
Dr. Weiss has used Mathematica since 1995 and has been a Mathematica
consultant since 1997.
- Expertise
- General consulting (Mathematica, mathematical methods)
- Economics
- Risk analysis
- Major Clients
- Leading U.S. government science and technology agencies (e.g.,
National Institute of Standards and Technology)
- High-technology corporations
- Education
- B.A. in Mathematics, Brandeis University, 1964
- Ph.D. in Mathematics, Brown University, 1970
- M.A. in Economics, University of Maryland, College Park, 1984
- Computer Language Experience in Addition to Mathematica
- Fortran
- Speakeasy/Fedeasy
- Platform Experience
- Languages Spoken
- Geographic Area of Operation
- Available worldwide
- Normally located in the Washington, D.C., area
Consulting Case Studies
Consulting Case Study 1
Under contract to a major U.S. government science and technology agency,
I conducted individual consulting sessions with 14 scientists and
engineers over a three-day period. The purpose was to assist each
researcher with the use of Mathematica in his or her own projects. This
work drew on my capabilities in both Mathematica and mathematics. For
example, in one session my experience with spatial statistics enabled me
to recommend a specific geometric approach to a problem in materials
science as well as to show where in Mathematica the needed technical
tools could be found. Likewise, in several other sessions in which
researchers presented me with mathematically complex Mathematica
programs related to their own specialized research, I was able to "cut
through" to the essentials, discern why their programs were running
slowly, and present improved programming techniques to increase
computational efficiency. In yet another session, a physicist required
help in using Mathematica
to interpret the output of a particular scientific instrument. For this
individual, I prepared a sample Mathematica program that automatically
processed the instrument's output and displayed the result in the form
of a surface. This solution not only met his immediate needs but also
demonstrated Mathematica techniques that he could use more broadly.
Consulting Case Study 2
I was engaged to assist an economist at a major U.S. government
international economics agency in applying Mathematica in his research.
After reviewing one of his projects, I was able to demonstrate to him
that the basic approach he had adopted was mathematically fallacious.
As a result, he made major revisions in an article he was preparing for
publication, improving the quality of his work and avoiding a
potentially embarrassing error. At the same time, he was able to
incorporate the Mathematica methods I taught him.
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