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From 1995 Professor Munjiza's research at QMUL has led to the development of a series of algorithms which can predict the movement and relationship between objects. These algorithms have been commercialised by a range of international engineering and software companies including Orica, the world's leading blasting systems provider (via their MBM software package), and the software modelling company, Dassault Systems (via their Abaqus software). Through these commercialisation routes Munjiza's work has generated significant economic impact which is global in nature. For example, his predictive algorithms have enabled safer, more productive blast mining for Orica's clients — in one mine alone, software based on Munjiza's modelling approach has meant a 10% increase in productivity, a 7% reduction in costs and an annual saving of $2.8 million. It has also been used in Dassault Systems' Abaqus modelling software, which is the world's leading generic simulation software used to solve a wide variety of industrial problems across the defence, automobile, construction, aerospace and chemicals sectors with associated economic impact.
Collaborations funded through EPSRC Interact and RCUK UK-China Science Bridge resulted in QUB's advanced control research having important economic and environmental impact in China, Pakistan, Vietnam. This includes the creation of new core modules for the Shanghai Automation Instrumentation Co (SAIC) SUPMAX Distributed Control System series of products now in use for whole plant monitoring and control to maximise energy efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions. These products have since 2008 increased SAIC's revenue by over $50M p.a. Related networked monitoring technologies have been successfully deployed in Baosteel's hot-rolling production lines and in the Nantong Water Treatment Company that treats 20,000 tonnes of industrial waste water daily.
danceroom Spectroscopy (dS) is a cutting-edge, interactive public engagement project that allows people to literally step into an interactive molecular dynamics simulation. It has its origins in fundamental research carried out to understand ultrafast chemical dynamics in liquids. On a large scale, dS impact has arisen from its deployment in premier cultural settings in the UK and internationally, eg the London 2012 Olympics, London's Barbican Arts Centre, Ars Electronica (Austria), ZKM (Germany), and the World Science Festival (New York City). Statistics indicate well over 60,000 people have so far experienced dS, with audiences spanning ages from 3 to 73, and attracting those with a variety of interests including science, technology, art and education. Within the cultural and media sectors, dS has received several awards and substantial press attention, all of which has proven beneficial to several non-academic collaborators and partner institutions. The substantial momentum and opportunities available from dS are also being commercially exploited through a spin-out company called Interactive Scientific Ltd.
Spatial decomposition methods have been extended to apply to spatial, scale, and temporal domains as a result of work at the Numerical and Applied Mathematics Research Unit (NAMU) at the University of Greenwich. This work has led to a numerical framework for tackling many nonlinear problems which have been key bottlenecks in software design and scientific computing. The work has benefitted the welding industry in the UK because these concepts are now embedded, with parallel computing, in the industry's modern welding design process software.
Research by Gondzio (Maxwell Institute) on algorithms for large-scale optimization has led to major advances in the design of interior point methods (IPMs). The advances include new ways of exploiting centrality (1996-2008) as well as special preconditioning (2004) and warmstarting (2003, 2008) techniques. These techniques make it possible to solve more difficult optimization problems more quickly. Some of these have been implemented by all major commercial providers of optimization software including IBM, Gurobi, Mosek and FICO. The techniques have therefore had an economic impact on these companies and on thousands of their customers worldwide who now benefit from faster, more reliable methods to solve their challenging optimization tasks.
Over 25 years, research by Hendry and Stevenson has explored the specific challenges faced by Make-to-Order (MTO) manufacturing companies and developed a novel Workload Control (WLC) approach, which has been most notably implemented in PDS Engineering. This led to significant increases in successful bids and reductions in lead times for PDS, with a knock on effect through their supply chain that includes large aerospace companies like Rolls-Royce. Publication of this stream of research led to international collaborations including in the Netherlands and Belgium, where an EU project involving 10 firms and further consultancy work has also led to reductions in lead times, typically of over 50%. The WLC approach is now ready for commercialisation in the UK.
This study describes two atomistic methods that have been used to explain better the behaviour and improve performance of materials. The research at Loughborough University from 2006-2013 has led to improved awareness and understanding in the areas of thin film growth and in irradiated structural materials for nuclear power. It has also led to changes in the operational models that Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) use. One of the algorithms developed has been incorporated into standard quantum chemistry packages, due to its increased accuracy and efficiency. The outcomes of the research have also contributed to changing UK government policy with regards to working with India in the area of nuclear research.
Research conducted within the School of Physical Sciences (SPS) at the University of Kent has led to the development and successful commercialisation of facial identification software named EFIT-V. First sold in 2007, this software is now used by more than 70 police forces internationally and has revolutionized the way eyewitnesses and victims of crime create computerised facial likenesses of offenders. These images are circulated to police intelligence units, and the general public, leading to the identification and arrests of offenders. Police Identification rates have jumped from 5% to 55% as a result of this software. With a current annual turnover exceeding £250K, which is projected to reach £600K by 2015, Kent spinout company Visionmetric has made significant impact with EFIT-V, and achieved a position of commercial dominance in the UK, and around the world.
Optimisation tools developed in the UoA have significantly advanced the ability to find the best designs for complex systems in cases where these were previously unobtainable. These optimisation tools have been implemented in several companies to shorten design times, reduce costs and reduce CO2 emissions. This has brought about new multi-million pound revenues, long-term contracts, increased employment and contribution to sustainability targets.
A generalized additive model (GAM) explores the extent to which a single output variable of a complex system in a noisy environment can be described by a sum of smooth functions of several input variables.
Bath research has substantially improved the estimation and formulation of GAMs and hence
This improved statistical infrastructure has resulted in improved data analysis by practitioners in fields such as natural resource management, energy load prediction, environmental impact assessment, climate policy, epidemiology, finance and economics. In REF impact terms, such changes in practice by practitioners leads ultimately to direct economic and societal benefits, health benefits and policy changes. Below, these impacts are illustrated via two specific examples: (1) use of the methods by the energy company EDF for electricity load forecasting and (2) their use in environmental management. The statistical methods are implemented in R via the software package mgcv, largely written at Bath. As a `recommended' R package mgcv has also contributed to the global growth of R, which currently has an estimated 1.2M business users worldwide [A].