Dr Christian Yates, Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, will be presenting a poster about the mathematics of locust swarming to MPs and expert judges on Monday 17 March, as part of SET for Britain. Christian’s work will be judged against dozens of other mathematicians’ research in the only national competition of its kind.
Christian, who also works on discovering the causes of African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and cell migration during embryo formation, amongst other topics in Mathematical Biology, was shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to appear in Parliament.
On presenting his research in Parliament, he said, “As a researcher I aim to communicate my work to as wide an audience as possible. I also think it’s important to be able to explain and justify the work I do. Presenting my work in Parliament will provide me the opportunity to do both.”
Andrew Miller MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, said, “This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs an opportunity to speak to a wide range of the country’s best young researchers.
“These early career engineers, mathematicians and scientists are the architects of our future and SET for Britain is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.”
Christian’s research has been entered into the Mathematics session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony. Judged by leading academics, the gold medallist receives £3,000, while silver and bronze receive £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.