Latest news

The equipment providing the university IT network connection to Dartington House failed at about 10am on 27/12/2011. The equipment is not accessible to maths IT staff and hence we are awaiting a response from OUCS as to how we can resolve this problem quickly.

The loss of network connectivity to Dartington House will affect various departmental IT services. The departmental website and zimbra webmail service remain operational.

Update 11:45am 29/12/2011

Having so far not had the problem resolved by OUCS we have put in place a creative work around to restore the Dartington House connection and hence all maths services should be working again normally as of 10:20am on Thursday 29/12/2011.

A brief outage of a few minutes will still be needed in due course once OUCS fix their equipment and we remove the work around.

Should you experience continuing problems with any maths IT services please report the issue to @email as normal.

Update 4/1/2011

OUCS have now replaced the failed equipment.

Ongoing Works

Steel Propping:- Large steel props are largely installed to the north and south of the site. These brace at ground level along the capping beam in order to restrain the ground pressure from the surrounding sides of the building while digging continues.

The Big Dig:- Excavation of the soil within the footprint of the building started ahead of programme and is expected to continue until Christmas 2011. There will be over 47,000m3 of soil to be removed. The gravel will be recycled and the clay used locally as fill material. As the excavation proceeds the props and capping beam will be closely monitored to ensure there is no movement.

Cleaning of Piles:- As piles continue to be exposed piles (concrete “wall” below ground level) they are being cleaned and inspected.

GSHP:- The project has incorporated Ground Source Heat Pumps which when complete will supply heat in winter and supply cool in the summer. This is achieved by submerging pipes deep into the ground that can transfer the heat / cool temperatures to the building by use of pumps. The pipes that were sunk at the start of the project will now be cropped and joined to header connection pipes that will terminate in access ducts in the plant rooms. The two sections of the north were completed on 6/12/2011.

Hoarding:- The hoarding works adjacent to the main access road on the north, and to the pedestrian route on the south are now complete.

Maths Dept Visit:- The Maths Department visited the site on 9/12/2011 to view the latest progress.

Future works for December

The Big Dig:- The excavation overall is now just over three quarters complete. The north and south are down to the correct level, while the central section will continue just into the new year (w.c. 9/1/2012). The removal of soil will change from loading the lorries at the base of the ramps to loading from ground level as the excavation diminishes.

GSHP:- The pipes that were sunk at the start of the project continue to be cropped and joined to header connection pipes that will terminate in access ducts in the plant rooms. The first 2 sections of the south are ongoing and expected to be complete by 22/12/2011. The remainder of work to the centre will be carried out in January.

Drainage & Slab:- The passenger lift pit to core 2 has been excavated while the adjacent attenuation tank area has been blinded. The vehicle lift base has been cast together with the first area of the basement slab (16/12/2011).

Tower Cranes:- Crane bases are concreted. The 1st tower crane is planned to be erected by use of a mobile crane on the weekend of 7th & 8th January 2012. The 2nd tower crane is planned to be erected on the 9th & 10th January.

Recent Site Photos

OCCAM helps Moriarty plot world domination in the latest Sherlock Holmes movie:

Professor Moriarty, a mathematical genius, is a tough opponent. He is smart, evil, and relentless – a perfect match for Robert Downey Junior and Jude Law in the new Sherlock Holmes movie ("A Game of Shadows"), released on 16 December by Warner Bros. Moriarty's formulae for world domination, as seen in the film, aren't the stuff of fantasy. They are the stuff of Professor Alain Goriely and Dr Derek Moulton from the Mathematical Institute in Oxford who helped Warner Bros. give mathematical credibility to the movie. "Conan Doyle probably felt that equations didn't fit easily into his story" says Prof. Goriely. "However, on the screen they are perfect - powerful, beautiful, and mysterious. They tell us everything we need to know about the Professor. This guy is smart. Sherlock is in trouble and the clues are all on the board."

The Oxford pair’s brief was to design the blackboard in Moriarty's office, a gigantic board filled with intricate, beautiful, yet mathematically exact equations and formulas. "Unfortunately, Conan Doyle told us very little about Prof. Moriarty and we had to do some sleuthing of our own" says Prof. Goriely. The challenges were multiple and complex. The first task they faced was to give Moriarty some intellectual and mathematical depth consistent with the period from the hints and clues lightly sprinkled among the Sherlock Holmes stories. Then, they designed the code and cypher that Moriarty uses to carry his evil plots. "The code is based on Moriarty's fascination with the binomial theorem, the Pascal triangle, and the Fibonacci p-codes. It is elaborate and reliable as only Moriarty could have come up with" says Dr Moulton.

Dr Moulton and Professor Goriely also wrote an entire mathematical lecture that Moriarty gives around Europe. The lecture entitled "Singularity, Collisions and Blow-ups in the N-Body Problem" is based on Moriarty's second book 'The Dynamics of An Asteroid' and was road- tested by Prof. Goriely at the Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics a year ago behind closed doors: "Celestial mechanics was a hot topic by the end of the nineteenth- century and Moriarty could see the benefit of computing ballistic trajectories and collision events for his own machiavellian plans. Do not be surprised if there are a lot of big guns in the movie. Mathematics has done so much good for mankind, but this was a reminder of what happens when it falls into the wrong hands" says Prof. Goriely, "But, without revealing too much, by the end it is mathematics itself that defeats Moriarty."

Further information is available in a new scientist article.

The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM, USA) awards the SIAG/Analysis of Partial Differential Equations Prize (one prize every two years) to the authors of the most outstanding paper, as determined by the committee, on a topic in Partial Differential Equations published in English in a peer-reviewed journal in the four calendar years preceding the year of the award.

The committee wishes to recognize Gui-Qiang G. Chen and Mikhail Feldman for their paper, "Global Solutions of Shock Reflection by Large-Angle Wedges for Potential Flow," Annals of Mathematics, Volume 171, Issue 2 (2010), 1067-1182, "in which they proved the existence and stability of a solution for the equations of two-dimensional compressible gas dynamics, for the case of a shock reflection from a wedge. This problem, originating with work of Ernst Mach, has long defied careful mathematical analysis."

Ongoing Works

Steel Propping:- Large steel props are largely installed to the north and south of the site. These brace at ground level along the capping beam in order to restrain the ground pressure from the surrounding sides of the building while digging continues.

The Big Dig:- Excavation of the soil within the footprint of the building started ahead of programme and is expected to continue until Christmas 2011. There will be over 47,000m3 of soil to be removed. The gravel will be recycled and the clay used locally as fill material. As the excavation proceeds the props and capping beam will be closely monitored to ensure there is no movement.

Cleaning of Piles:- As piles continue to be exposed piles (concrete “wall” below ground level) they are being cleaned and inspected.

Future works for December

The Big Dig:- The excavation overall is now just over two thirds complete. The north is down to the correct level, the south will have another week for main dig excavation, and the central section will continue into the new year. The removal of soil will change from loading the lorries at the base of the ramps to loading from ground level as the excavation diminishes.

GSHP:- The pipes that were sunk at the start of the project will now be cropped and joined to header connection pipes that will terminate in access ducts in the plant rooms. The 1st section of the north is complete and the 2nd section of the north is due on Tuesday 6/12/2011. The south will then be progressed from Wednesday 7/12/2011.

Drainage & Slab:- By mid December the drainage will be ongoing and the 1st basement slab will be formed in the north of the site.

Hoarding:- Hoarding works adjacent to the main access road is continuing towards Gate 7 and is expected to be complete by 5/12/2011.

Tower Cranes:- Crane bases are concreted. The 1st tower crane is planned to be erected by use of a mobile crane on the weekend of 7th and 8th January 2012.

Recent Site Photos

Professor Martin Bridson will give the 2011 Erwin Schroedinger Lecture in Vienna on 13 December.

His title is Finitely presented groups: geometry, decision problems, finite quotients, and monsters

Further details are available.

Ongoing Works

Pile Capping:- The tops of the concrete piles are exposed and are then cut to a more accurate height using a mechanical cropper and breakers. This operation is now complete.

Capping Beam:- A concrete capping beam is being constructed along the top of the piles to connect them and form a solid continuous ring beam. This operation is now complete.

Steel Propping:- Large steel props are largely installed to the north and south of the site. These will brace at ground level along the capping beam in order to restrain the ground pressure from the surrounding sides of the building while digging continues.

GSHP:- The project has incorporated Ground Source Heat Pumps which when complete will supply heat in winter and cooling in the summer. This is achieved by submerging pipes deep into the ground that can transfer the heat / cool temperatures to the building by use of pumps.

Maths Dept Visit:- The Maths Department visited the site on 11/11/2011 to view the latest progress.

Future works for November / December

The Big Dig:- Excavation of the soil within the footprint of the building has started ahead of programme and is expected to continue until Christmas 2011. There will be over 47,000m3 of soil to be removed. The gravel will be recycled and the clay used locally as fill material. As the excavation proceeds the props and capping beam will be closely monitored to ensure there is no movement.

Cleaning of Piles:- Once the excavation of the soil is sufficiently advanced in early November the exposed piles (concrete “wall” below ground level) will be cleaned and inspected.

GSHP:- The pipes that were sunk at the start of the project will now be cropped and joined to header connection pipes that will terminate in access ducts in the plant rooms. This will be done as base of the dig is exposed and will continue into the new year.

Hoarding:- Hoarding works will start w.c. 21/11/2011 adjacent to the access road fed by Gate 7.

Tower Cranes:- Crane bases will be formed in November in readiness for crane installation in January.

Recent Site Photos

Ongoing Works

Secant Piles:- In total there have been 532 holes that were drilled, reinforced with steel and concreted to a depth generally in excess of 20m. These piles are now being cleaned down as the excavation progresses.

Pile Capping:- The tops of the concrete piles are exposed and are then cut to a more accurate height using a mechanical cropper and breakers. This operation is almost complete with less than 1 week remaining.

Capping Beam:- A concrete capping beam is being constructed along the top of the piles to connect them and form a solid continuous ring beam. This operation is continuing and will be complete by mid November.

Steel Propping:- Large steel props are largely installed to the north end of the site. These will brace at ground level along the capping beam in order to restrain the ground pressure from the surrounding sides of the building while digging continues. Props are now being installed on the south of the site adjacent to Somerville College.

Gates & Hoarding:- Gate 5 adjacent to the St Lukes Chapel is operational. Hoarding is being installed adjacent to the Somerville College.

Future works for November

The Big Dig:- Excavation of the soil within the footprint of the building has started ahead of programme and is expected to continue until Christmas 2011. There will be over 47,000m3 of soil to be removed. The gravel will be recycled and the clay used locally as fill material. As the excavation proceeds the props and capping beam will be closely monitored to ensure there is no movement.

Cleaning of Piles:- Once the excavation of the soil is sufficiently advanced in early November the exposed piles (concrete “wall” below ground level) will be cleaned and inspected.

Hoarding:- Hoarding works will start w.c. 7/11/2011 adjacent to Gate 7 along the access road.

Tower Cranes:- Crane bases will be formed in November in readiness for crane installation in December / January.

Recent Site Photos

Ongoing Works

Piling Rigs:-The piling activities are now complete and the rigs have been dismantled and transported off site.

Secant Piles:- In total there will have been 532 holes that were drilled, reinforced with steel and concreted to a depth generally in excess of 20m. Secant is a term in mathematics and comes from the Latin secare (to cut). Initially every other hole is drilled and concreted (female piles). These are followed shortly afterwards by drilling into the gaps and the relatively soft female concrete piles, before concreting the male piles. This will form a continuous concrete “wall” underground.

Pile Capping:- The tops of the concrete piles are exposed and are then cut to a more accurate height using a mechanical cropper and breakers. This operation is over half way around the building and will continue for the remainder of October.

Capping Beam:- A concrete capping beam is being constructed along the top of the piles to connect them and form a solid continuous ring beam. This operation has commenced near the Woodstock Road and will continue to the beginning of November.

Steel Propping:- Large steel props are largely installed to one end of the site. These will brace at ground level along the capping beam in order to restrain the ground pressure from the surrounding sides of the building while digging continues.

Gates:- Gate 5 adjacent to the St Lukes Chapel is now operational. Gate 7 remains the main access with Elliot Thomas guard in attendance.

Oxford Site Review:- The monthly department site review for October was carried out last week, showing the progress made to date.

Future works for October / November

The Big Dig:- Excavation of the soil within the footprint of the building has started ahead of programme and is expected to continue until Christmas 2011. There will be over 47,000m3 of soil to be removed. The gravel will be recycled and the clay used locally as fill material. As the excavation proceeds the props and capping beam will be closely monitored to ensure there is no movement.

Cleaning of Piles:- Once the excavation of the soil is sufficiently advanced in early November the exposed piles (concrete “wall” below ground level) will be cleaned and inspected.

The Tissue and Cell Engineering Society has awarded its Early Stage Investigator prize to Rebecca Shipley, of OCIAM; Becky is also a JRF at Christ Church. Her research involves the use of mathematical modelling techniques in medical systems. Her talk was entitled 'Fluid and mass transport modelling to drive the design of cell-packed hollow fibre bioreactors'.

See http://www.tces.org/pastconferenceleeds2011_css.html for further details.