“We are working with SAMBa to develop new tools for managing risk by combining deterministic and probabilistic methods.”
Dr David Worthington, Head of Risk & Reliability Mathematical Modelling, DNV GL
DNV GL is a multi-national risk analysis company, working across a wide range of sectors. They first began working with the Department of Mathematical Sciences in 2013 through jointly funding a project, led by Tony Shardlow, through the University’s Impact Acceleration Account to investigate new approaches to risk assessment. This IAA project funded a postdoctoral researcher who went on to be a lecturer at the University of Warwick.
Following this short-term, applied maths project, DNV GL was keen to get involved with some longer-term fundamental mathematics research in order to improve their processes further. This was enabled through attending the first SAMBa Integrative Think Tank (ITT) in January 2015. DNV GL worked with the SAMBa students in the weeks leading up to the ITT, training them on their software and giving them an introduction to the company, its priorities and the challenges it faces.
Two representatives from DNV GL attended the ITT, and presented quite different problems. One was solved during the ITT week and an extension of this work is now being pursued by the Bath Institute for Mathematical Innovation. The second project developed into a PhD project.
"We found participating in the ITT to be an unique and engaging environment for exchanging ideas and it was also good fun. Above all it produced some truly innovative thinking."
"The students at SAMBa were engaging and motivated, above all interested in solving real world problems with their skills. As a result of SAMBa we have taken huge strides forward in a new technique in the assessment of arthritis related to psoriasis and the effect of treatment.
“We have a great track record of successful collaboration with SAMBa, as we share a common aim – applying the latest thinking in mathematics and statistics to solve real-world problems."
"For a small company like ours, this research is vital in delivering our vision to create digital technologies that change what’s possible for clinicians and patients."
"The collaboration between SAMBa, UNAM and CIMAT has strengthened us in tools and techniques to visualize new perspectives of development and collaboration with a focus on generating value for other institutions."
"Working with SAMBa students to relay how our industry understands the daily challenges in aerospace design and manufacture and for them to translate them into statistical/mathematical models and methods was a refreshing and rewarding concept."
There were a couple of ongoing personal research collaborations with Novartis in the Department of Mathematical Sciences that were brought together to develop a set of challenges for Novartis’s participation in ITT12. These consisted of questions exploring modelling and data integration in pharmacokinetics models, and finding effective routes to drug development for liver disease.
“Alongside the specific potential benefits to applied flood and coastal risk management, I have seen first-hand that the SAMBa CDT produces high calibre doctoral graduates with excellent skills in problem formulation and collaborative problem solving...”