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A two-dimensional flood inundation model called LISFLOOD-FP, which was created by a team led by Professor Paul Bates at the University of Bristol, has served as a blueprint for the flood risk management industry in the UK and many other countries. The documentation and published research for the original model, developed in 1999, and the subsequent improvements made in over a decade of research, have been integrated into clones of LISFLOOD-FP that have been produced by numerous risk management consultancies. This has not only saved commercial code developers' time but also improved the predictive capability of models used in a multimillion pound global industry that affects tens of millions of people annually. Between 2008 and 2013, clones of LISFLOOD-FP have been used to: i) develop national flood risk products for countries around the world; ii) facilitate the pricing of flood re-insurance contracts in a number of territories worldwide; and iii) undertake numerous individual flood inundation mapping studies in the UK and overseas. In the UK alone, risk assessments from LISFLOOD-FP clones are used in the Environment Agency's Flood Map (accessed on average 300,000 times a month by 50,000 unique browsers), in every property legal search, in every planning application assessment and in the pricing of the majority of flood re-insurance contracts. This has led to more informed and, hence, better flood risk management. A shareware version of the code has been available on the University of Bristol website since December 2010. As of September 2013, the shareware had received over 312 unique downloads from 54 different countries.
Research, undertaken at the University of Sheffield since 2001, into the discolouration of drinking water occurring within distribution systems has had economic, policy and professional practice impacts on the water supply sector since 2008. This has resulted in improved levels of service, has safeguarded water quality delivered to the public and has delivered substantial economic savings. For example, in one of the few cases where monetary value is available, Wessex Water made 63% savings on two trunk main schemes with an initial estimated cost in excess of £1M. The 4 and 7 km lengths of these trunk mains represent less than 1% of the trunk mains being impacted by our research. Our research has resulted in a step change in the concept and approach to the management of discolouration in water distribution systems.
The School of Mathematics at Cardiff University has developed important statistical and mathematical models for forecasting consumer buying behaviour. Enhancements to classical models, inspired by extensively studying their statistical properties, have allowed us to exploit their vast potential to benefit the sales and marketing strategies of manufacturing and retail organisations. The research has been endorsed and applied by Nielsen, the #1 global market research organisation that provides services to clients in 100 countries. Nielsen has utilised the models to augment profits and retain their globally leading corporate position. This has led to a US$30 million investment and been used to benefit major consumer goods manufacturers such as Pepsi, Kraft, Unilever, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble. Therefore the impact claimed is financial. Moreover, impact is also measurable in terms of public engagement since the work has been disseminated at a wide range of national and international corporate events and conferences. Beneficiaries include Tesco, Sainsbury's, GlaxoSmithKline and Mindshare WW.
The Hydro-environmental Research Centre (HRC) at Cardiff University has developed a widely used hydro-environmental numerical model, called DIVAST (Depth Integrated Velocities And Solute Transport). DIVAST addresses the need for more accurate models to predict flood risk and water quality levels for a range of extreme events. The model has been implemented in commercial codes, marketed by CH2M HILL (previously Halcrow), and used in design studies, for example, undertaken by Buro Happold. The impacts of the research are marked environmental, health, economic and industrial benefits. It is used by major organisations around the world on large-scale projects and, in particular, for mitigation planning against national and international risks associated with floods and water quality.
Dr Richard Brooks and his team at the University of Nottingham have been investigating the high strain rate behaviour of composite materials since 2003. This has led to the development of two products that are being installed in streets in the UK and Ireland by East Midlands SME Frangible Safety Posts Ltd. The direct benefits to the company have been: the installation of 900 products in the UK and Ireland; saving of £17k capital cost and 2 months in terms of time to market per product developed and; raising of £1.8M investment to bring the products to market At least one life has already been saved in the Shetland Islands as a direct consequence of the product behaving in the way it was designed to.
The intensification of food production, fossil fuel combustion and water consumption has led to substantial increases in the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus flushed from land to water. The accumulation of these nutrients in freshwaters, estuaries and the coastal zone has led to reductions in biodiversity, the loss of ecosystem services, and compromised water security. The UK is a signatory to a raft of international conventions and policies which require reductions in the flux of nutrients from land to the water and restoration of ecosystem health and services. To meet these obligations, policymakers need information on the scale of the problem, the sources of nutrients and the effectiveness of intervention measures.
Research in the Unit has directly addressed this need. It has provided robust scientific evidence of the scale of the problem and the sources of nutrient enrichment, and has provided the capability to test intervention and policy scenarios at field to national scales. It has fed directly into the development of monitoring approaches and mitigation measures now in use by the Environment Agency (EA) and Defra, informed the development of UK Government policy in relation to catchment management, and supported compliance with the EU Water Framework Directive, the renegotiation of the Gothenburg Protocol under the International Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, and reporting on discharges of nutrient pollution to the North East Atlantic under the OSPAR Convention.
Research conducted at the School of Mathematics at Cardiff University has engineered lifesaving, improvements to UK healthcare systems. New mathematical models, accounting for the complexity and diversity of the health system, have been created and applied in a variety of contexts to markedly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of a wide range of healthcare services — at policy, commissioning and operational levels. The extensive benefits include:
This work has been disseminated nationally and internationally, in the media and at a range of events designed to engage the public with Mathematics. Therefore the impacts claimed in this case study are health, economic benefits and public engagement.
The impact presented in this case study is the commercialisation of 15 products with perfume microcapsules by Procter and Gamble (P&G), made possible using capsule mechanical strength data provided by Prof Zhibing Zhang's research group at Birmingham. Use of microcapsules gives improved freshness performance, and thus commercial advantage, compared with traditional formulations; they have been incorporated in P&G's four major billion-dollar brands — Downy, Febreze, Lenor and Tide. This has significantly improved their competitiveness enabling P&G to retain their leading position in the USA and Western Europe. A novel micromanipulation technique developed at the University of Birmingham has been used extensively to obtain mechanical properties data for the micro-particles, including microcapsules prepared in Birmingham and provided by companies, which is related to their formulation and processing conditions and end- use performance. In addition, the knowledge generated has helped 15 other companies to commercialise new functional products containing micro-particles.
Eutrophication results from excessive nutrient discharge to a water-body, reducing water quality. Eutrophication status must comply with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD). As part of a consortium, UHI developed, validated and researched a model (CSTT) capable of screening a water-body for eutrophication. The model was used to defend the UK in the European Court of Justice (2009), against proceedings brought by the European Commission alleging infraction of UK obligations under the UWWTD. The model proved that British waters were not harmfully impacted by eutrophication, sparing the UK government ~£6 billion to implement tertiary sewage treatment across England and Wales.
Loudness is the subjective magnitude of a sound as perceived by human listeners and it plays an important role in many human activities. It is determined jointly by the physical characteristics of a sound and by characteristics of the human auditory system. A model for predicting the loudness of sounds from their physical spectra was developed in the laboratory of Professor Brian Moore with support from an MRC programme grant.
The model formed the basis for an American National Standard and is currently being prepared for adoption as a standard by the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO). In addition, the model has been widely used in industry worldwide for prediction of the loudness of sounds, for example: noise from heating, ventilation and air-conditioning; inside and outside cars, and from aircraft; and from domestic appliances and machinery.