USask professor opens career doors for math students

By Chris Putnam

In his new leadership role with an influential mathematical sciences institute, a University of Saskatchewan (USask) professor wants to help math students realize the vast career potential of their field.

Dr. Ray Spiteri (PhD)—a professor in the USask Department of Computer Science and associate member of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics—is the newly appointed co-director, careers for the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS). As one of his first tasks, he is leading a spring career skills workshop and encouraging USask students to take part.

Math to Power Industry (M2PI) 2026 is a three-week program for graduate students and recent grads taking place online from May 25–June 12. The deadline to register is April 17.

“The hallmark of mathematicians is their ability to solve problems. In industry, they get hired for their ability to look at things in different ways and solve problems that other people or other ways of doing things haven’t been able to solve,” said Spiteri, who heads the workshop’s organizing committee.

PIMS’ annual M2PI program is an opportunity for students of the mathematical sciences to discover their value to various industries and to get hands-on practice with employment skills.

The virtual workshop starts with a week of training in resume writing, interviewing, communicating, coding and other skills relevant to the workplace. Participants then work with industry mentors for two weeks on finding solutions to real-world problems brought by partner organizations.

Among this year’s problems is a project exploring whether part of a climate model can be run on a quantum computer, potentially opening the door to improved climate simulations. In another problem, participants will work to optimize the shape of a magnetic fusion reactor as a step toward practical fusion power.

As well as mathematicians, students with strong mathematics skills in related fields such as physics, computer science or engineering are eligible to participate in M2PI. The workshop is open to students at any university, but applicants from PIMS member universities—including USask—are given priority.

PIMS is a Canadian/American consortium that promotes research, training and education in the mathematical sciences. Spiteri's co-director position is responsible for career and industry engagement initiatives at PIMS. 

Spiteri, who is internationally recognized for his research in numerical analysis, scientific computing and high-performance computing, has a long history of academic-industrial collaborations. He accepted the PIMS co-director position because of his passion for mathematics education and his desire to expand Canadians’ appreciation of mathematics.

“As a professor, I believe that education is the cure for most, if not all, of our woes. So having an educated population is the best way to prosperity and happiness,” Spiteri said.

The USask professor also hopes to help raise the profile of Saskatchewan mathematics.

“I would like us to be known for our outreach to industry, for being very tech savvy and for having an above-average appreciation for mathematics. That should be a good thing for the province,”  he said.

Spiteri is working to grow the M2PI program and potentially add in-person components to the virtual workshop.

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