Industrial Maths and Ministry of Defence study group, 29-31 May, London

KTN is running a series of study groups exploring the application of the mathematical sciences to develop solutions to problems from diverse sectors.

This Ministry of Defence study group, being run behalf of Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), will add to the KTN programme of Industrial Maths in Clean and Sustainable Growth and Health/Artificial Intelligence groups.

To be held in London from 29-31 May, this Dstl workshop aims to explore state-of-the-art communication and visualisation strategies for conveying Chemical/Biological (CB) hazard information to military decision makers.  In particular, the organisers are interested in the effect that uncertain elements of the input data, such as meteorology, might have on the decision-making process.

The focus will be on communication strategies for CB plume hazards.  Hazard information can be generated in the form of computational model output containing the mean, variance and distribution of casualty numbers across space and time.  The decision maker needs to decide on how to deal with the potential hazards based on the spatial and temporal extent of the plume and the number of casualties predicted.

Presenting such complex information to a decision maker often leaves them information rich, but potentially unable to distil this information into a succinct evidence base for key decisions in a timely manner.

Hazard predictions are subject to uncertainty and communication strategies should be designed so that the user can assess intuitively the effect these uncertainties have on their decision.  Participants will be asked to discuss, examine and explore (with the aid of representative datasets and input from military advisors) novel interactive visualisation schemes for a variety of scenarios.

At this stage KTN is looking for expressions of interest from UK researchers in the fields of statistics, psychology, graphic design, visualisation and other subjects relevant to the challenge.  Accommodation and food for the three days will be covered by the organisers for those accepted to take part.

To register your interest, click here.