About:

The Modelling Camp Aimed to:

1. Train students and early career mathematical science researchers to engage in study groups and similar activities
2. Offer essential skills training - team-work, coping outside of one's comfort zone, introduction to modelling methodology, report writing, communication, and presentation skills
3. Discover how different branches of mathematics can be applied in various industrial settings.

Participation in a modelling camp is excellent preparation for Study Groups.  European Study Groups with Industry are events across Europe.  There is an annual ESGI in the UK. 

The ICMS/MAC MIGS Modelling Camp was structured to maximise time for networking and informal discussions.  We were delighted that the 2022 event was held in-person in Edinburgh.

Students at Modelling Camp 2019

Problem Descriptions:

6 problems were planned

The Delivery Problem

Problem Owner:  Poul Hjorth, TU Denmark

This problem is a logistics problem about routes and supply strategies for delivery of medical supplies in a situation constrained by the fact that quantities of both fuel for vehicles and skilled delivery technicians are scarce. Maps, distances and other information were available to the problem solvers.

Inproving techniques for carbon capture

Problem Owner:  Tim Myers

Tackling environmental challenges is this generation’s defining task (EC Green Deal 2020). One such challenge, the goal of holding global warming “to well below 2°C” (IPCC 2018; Paris Agreement 2015), can now only be achieved through the extraction of atmospheric greenhouse gases in tandem with emission reductions and a range of other measures. The primary focus of this problem concerns the development, analysis and application of mathematical models for the removal of contaminants by the process of column sorption. Column sorption, is perhaps the most popular practical sorption method and is used for a wide range of processes, such as the removal of emerging contaminants, volatile organic compounds, dyes and salts. It may be applied to both liquids and gases. Here we will focus specifically on the capture of CO₂ however the analysis is identical for the removal of many forms of pollutant. The mathematical description of column sorption involves coupling advection-diffusion equations to sink (removal) equations, all applied over an evolving domain. The research topic falls within the broad category of moving boundary problems (MBPs). The ultimate goal of the study was to develop an understanding of the column sorption process which may then be used to design future practical equipment.

Capturing diversity in aphid-parasitoid dynamics to improve integrated pest management

Problem Owner: James Hutton Institute

The James Hutton Institute is a well-respected and globally recognised research organisation delivering fundamental and applied science to drive the sustainable use of land and natural resources.

Aphids are major crop pests, often controlled using chemical sprays, but this approach is not sustainable due to resistance development and the removal of pesticides from sale. The natural enemies of aphids can be effective at controlling aphid numbers, but aphids can show resistance to these biological controls. Using natural enemies to control aphids relies on understanding phenotypic diversity within aphid populations (e.g. presence of parasitism-resistant types). Previous work does not accommodate individual variability in survival and development, which are likely to affect overall population dynamics. The challenge is to introduce controlled variability in development times to understand the impact on aphid control.

Investigating the feasibility of automatic ROV image analysis

Problem Owner: Ocean Science Consulting

Ocean Science Consulting provide marine mammal detection and underwater noise risk mitigation services to all marine industries worldwide.Offshore installations are becoming increasingly common globally. Complete removal of infrastructure at the end of its field life is currently legally required; however, there is growing evidence that leaving some, well-placed offshore structures in situ (as artificial Rigs-to-Reefs) can provide vital habitats for a diverse range of species. A review of industrially-collected Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) footage can be used to assess the ecological importance of a structure. However, manual review of footage is time consuming, so OSC is seeking to automate aspects of this process. For the complex offshore structures of interest here, this field is in its infancy. This project aimed to a) investigate the feasibility of computer vision techniques to identify different types of structure cover and b) assess the scope for automated taxa/species identification.

Surrounding-aware data augmentation techniques

Problem Owner: Viapontica AI

Viapontica AI is a digital product innovation partner that invents the cutting edge, designing, building and deploying bespoke software, data and machine learning within our clients' products and services. The project objective is to come up with strategies for creating synthetic datasets using data augmentation techniques. An example application is training a road inventory model (e.g. model that detects road signs). Images of general road signs can be easily obtained (e.g. using web scraping), which can then be pasted onto general road images, creating labelled data sets. However, the augmentation technique needs to be aware of the image surrounding, because, for example, road signs are not found in the middle of the sky. For this project, a range of strategies could be tried using pretrained models, which could be benchmarked against each other by using each dataset for the training of the same road sign object detection model.

How Green is my International Maths Workshop?

Problem Owner:  ICMS Edinburgh

ICMS provides a venue and support for diverse international conferences and workshops. We work with people from all over the world, creating international networks of mathematicians.

At the time we were developing our sustainability policy, considering all aspects of our workshops including,  catering, printed material, IT use. International travel is a significant component of our events.   On-line provision has increased significantly and we now deliver hybrid events.  As future international maths workshop participants and organisers we asked modelling camp participants to consider the various aspects of ICMS activity and suggest the most appropriate sustainability strategies.