Major grant for Maths, Statistics, Bio- and Nano-engineering
Researchers in the School of Mathematics, Southampton Statistical Research Institute (S3RI) and the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Southampton have won nearly £0.5 million from the EPSRC to fund multidisciplinary research in bio- and nano-engineering.
Under the name SYMBIOSIS, the grant will be used to build on the existing international reputations of Southampton's research in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Engineering, Biological sciences and Optoelectronics to develop collaborative teams working on new projects crossing the subject-boundaries.
There are two broad themes in the programme: Mathematics in Bioengineering and Mathematics in Nanoengineering.
The programme will use various mechanisms to provide researchers with ring-fenced time to learn about new scientific areas, to become familiar with different scientific languages, to identify and carry out preliminary investigations of potential projects and to prepare proposals for external funding to develop and sustain research activity.
Specific activities will also include: an extensive set of workshops, both real and virtual, which will act as a pipeline to developing new collaborations; fellowships to allow immersion in alternative disciplines within the programme; a Visitor programme and SYMBIOSIS seminars; UoS- funded interdisciplinary PhD studentships for long-term focus.
The programme will encourage the participation of a large number of young researchers to gain crucial mentoring and experience in initiating and developing such collaborations in interdisciplinary research.
Four broad areas of mathematics have been identified as likely to be stimulated within the themes through new research challenges: Mathematical Modelling and Multiscale Physics; Combinatorics, Geometry and Mathematical Analysis; Understanding Uncertainty - Experiment and Analysis; Optimisation, Computation and Simulation. These areas will, in turn, contribute to the engineering research.
Examples of possible research areas include: engineering design of sensors for the environment and for robotics, developing and assessing novel joint replacements in humans, and designing and improving micro-engineered machines (MEMs) through the use of new materials.
Any companies interested in industrial research partnerships are encouraged to contact the organisers via the SYMBIOSYS facilitator Dr. Ben MacArthur.