* when do you find yourself, if ever, drawing on both mathematical understanding and programming smarts and how do you see the two related?

The last few years I use both a lot but I don't see a strong relationship. IMO they are two different things.

* Does it happen more at work? more on your own personal programming projects?

It is my work:-) I don't have too many private projects, prefer to spend my time on exploring Spain/Madrid and play chess.

* What did you find yourself learning (mathematically) after school as part of your programming survival kit?

For me it was the other way around. I am a mathematician and picked up programming along the way. Many courses/workshops/etc. but the best way of learning is experience. Nothing beats experience IMO. When I do run into a difficult Math problem the Internet and colleagues help me out.

* If you did a CS degree, did they get the mix of theory right? Or was there theory that should have taught and wasn't?

I have looked at Master programs in CS and found the math component always a bit weak (compared to a math Master program). But that's not a problem at all. We all have our different expertise. My Physics knowledge is weak so I ask others. You cannot expect to master everything, that's why we work together. If you run into a tricky Math problem ask a mathematician!

* And finally, how does Perl as a language help or hinder you in those rare (or maybe not so rare times) when you need to think both theoretically and practically at the same time?

I started relatively late with Perl. For me Perl is a great aid. I can pretty much do everything in it I need and it is the perfect glue, e.g. combine Fortran, C and other stuff into one working app. It's also very good for prototyping. I work on problems related to Physics, Math and CS and so far so good.