PIMS at 30: Mathematics in Action

For 30 years, PIMS has supported mathematical research and collaborations that help address complex challenges.  

Mathematics underpins advances in artificial intelligence, climate and weather forecasting, renewable energy, public health, finance, quantum science, and many other fields. Behind these innovations are researchers, students, and interdisciplinary teams working to develop new methods, models, and insights.

The following examples highlight some of the ways mathematical ideas are contributing to innovation, discovery, and societal impact today.

Quantum Science

A major milestone in Canadian research and innovation is underway at the University of Saskatchewan, where a new quantum computer will position the institution as a national hub for quantum science. This achievement builds on years of PIMS-supported research and collaboration, including the PIMS Collaborative Research Group (CRG) on Quantum Topology and Its Applications, initiated in 2020. That PIMS CRG helped lay the groundwork for the Centre for Quantum Topology and Its Applications (quanTA), now directed by PIMS Site Director Prof. Steven Rayan, who is leads the project to install a full-stack, open-architecture quantum computer at the University of Saskatchewan, one of the first such systems in Canada. This work has strengthened the mathematical foundations of quantum science while fostering partnerships that support Canada's growing quantum ecosystem.
 

Ocean and Environmental Science

Mathematics plays an essential role in understanding complex environmental systems. Through initiatives such as the Canada–France–Chile Ocean Research Connections Workshop, PIMS brings together mathematical scientists, oceanographers, marine ecologists, and data researchers to address challenges facing our oceans. These collaborations help develop the mathematical models and analytical tools needed to better understand environmental change and support evidence-based decision-making.
 

Talent Development and Industry Engagement

Mathematics in action is not only about advancing research–it is also about preparing the next generation of mathematical scientists to apply their expertise.

Mathematical Biology

Mathematics has become essential to the life sciences, from modelling the spread of disease to understanding ecological change and the behaviour of cells. PIMS has supported mathematical biology across its network for many years, beginning with the International Graduate Training Centre in Mathematical Biology, established in 2007. That work continues today through the Maud Menten Institute, a PIMS Research Network that connects mathematical biologists at PIMS sites with experts in the life sciences and with decision-makers in government, industry, and the non-profit sector. Named for the Canadian scientist Maud Menten, a pioneer of enzyme kinetics, the Institute combines research with training designed to prepare mathematical biologists for careers both inside and outside academia.

Optimal Transport

Optimal transport, the mathematics of moving from one configuration of resources to another as efficiently as possible, has developed from a classical problem into one of the most active areas of modern mathematics, with applications across statistics, economics, and machine learning. PIMS has supported this field through the Kantorovich Initiative, which began as the Pacific Interdisciplinary Hub on Optimal Transport, a Collaborative Research Group, and grew into the first PIMS Research Network. The Initiative brings researchers and students together around the theory of optimal transport and its applications, including the optimization and data-analysis methods now central to artificial intelligence.

Industry and Innovation

Through Math to Power Industry (M2PI), PIMS connects graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty with industry, government, and non-profit partners to tackle real-world challenges using mathematical tools, modelling, and data-driven approaches.

M2PI has completed more than 40 partner projects across sectors including energy, healthcare, manufacturing, finance, climate science, and artificial intelligence. In 2026 alone, 37 trainees collaborated on eight projects with organizations ranging from Environment and Climate Change Canada and Type One Energy to quantum technology, healthcare, and energy analytics companies.

The program provides trainees with valuable experience working in interdisciplinary teams while helping organizations explore innovative approaches to complex challenges. As one recent industry partner described M2PI, it is a "hidden gem of the Canadian innovation ecosystem."

Artificial Intelligence

Many of the threads, optimal transport, optimization, statistics, and the analysis of high-dimensional data, now converge in artificial intelligence, where many of the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Mathematics lies at the heart of modern AI, providing the foundations for machine learning, optimization, statistics, and data analysis. At the same time, AI is beginning to change how mathematical research itself is done. PIMS has designated 2026–2027 as the PIMS Thematic Year on Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence, bringing the network's research community together around both of these developments. Through sustained support for mathematical research and collaboration, PIMS aims to contribute to AI systems that are more reliable, transparent, efficient, and trustworthy.
 

As we celebrate 30 years of PIMS, these examples highlight the vital role mathematics plays in addressing global challenges and driving innovation from quantum technologies and environmental science to artificial intelligence and beyond. 

Since 1996, PIMS has supported the researchers and collaborations that make this work possible.