University mathematicians take their research to Parliament
06 Mar 2017
Two Manchester researchers shortlisted from hundreds of applicants
Two University mathematicians are presenting their research to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges, as part of the poster competition for early career researchers, STEM for BRITAIN.
Researcher Dr Peter Johnson, 27, and PhD student Jeffrey Chu, 26, both of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, were shortlisted from hundreds of applicants and will now compete in the mathematical sciences session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.
Judged by leading academics, the gold medallist receives £3,000, while silver and bronze receive £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.
Peter’s poster is about quickest change-point detection with application to global positioning systems will be judged against dozens of other scientists’ research in the only national competition of its kind.
Jeffrey’s poster is about mathematics, big data, and networks, and the application to population size of hard to reach populations, will be judged against dozens of other scientists’ research in the only national competition of its kind.
He said: “I applied to take part in STEM for Britain to present my research to a wider audience, especially those outside of academia. I'm excited to have been given this opportunity and hope that I can show off the interesting and useful research in mathematics that we are conducting at The University of Manchester.”
Peter said: , “I am looking forward to presenting my work to MPs next month. There is lots of superb research being done in the UK, collaborating with other researchers from around the world, and events like this allow it to be highlighted to both politicians and the general public.”
Stephen Metcalfe MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, said: “This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs an opportunity to speak to a wide range of the country’s best young researchers.
“These early career engineers, mathematicians and scientists are the architects of our future and STEM for BRITAIN is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.”
The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee runs the event in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Biology, The Physiological Society and the Council for the Mathematical Sciences, with financial support from the Clay Mathematics Institute, Research Councils UK, Warwick Manufacturing Group, Society of Chemical Industry, Institute of Biomedical Science and the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research.