Early Career Profile: Christopher M. Teixeira

What he does:

Chris is an Operations Research Analyst for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in which he comes across different types of problems depending on the project.  The projects vary from statistical analysis of results to modeling and optimizing systems.

Math on the job:

The majority of Chris's work at SAIC involves optimization of systems.  First he creates a discrete event simulation model of a system, then examines the different aspects of it and attempts to optimize given a certain goal.  Other projects involve statistical analysis of results and presentation of the results.  Most of Chris's work is done through ARENA, SAS, and EXCEL and a combination of those. He also creates programs in FORTRAN and uses UNIX to process data for each model.   Chris uses his knowledge of applied statistics and integer programming everyday in his career.

Chris's background:

Chris chose WPI for its unique project based system and its strong focus on the sciences and engineering.  Chris started off in the Introduction to Analysis sequence, a specialized calculus sequence for mathematics majors at WPI and in the introductory probability and statistics courses.   He soon became very involved in different aspects of the Mathematical Sciences Department through the Peer Learning Assistant (PLA) program, volunteering to meet with prospective students at Open Houses, attending the student Math Hour, and becoming vice president of Pi Mu Epsilon.  After graduating in the spring of 2006, he accepted an internship in Systems Engineering at SAIC where he now works fulltime as an Operations Research Analyst.

Advice to students:

"Through the course of earning a mathematics degree, it is important to experience other areas of science.  It is valuable to not only understand the theory of how mathematics operates but also other areas to which it can be applied.  Also knowing a wide variety of mathematics will turn out to be a great advantage at any job."

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Last modified: November 21, 2006 14:31:17