Mathematics Adapting to a Changing World

There is a growing trend, and demand, for scientific and evidence-based decision-making supporting defence and security at the heart of government and industry. Mathematics is fundamental to these two domains, providing a framework for understanding and solving the varied and complex problems faced, and to model systems and scenarios. As mathematicians we are in an ideal position to be at the forefront of this requirement and are able to take a step back and assimilate everything into a common language. One of the biggest challenges for mathematicians is the ubiquity of the discipline – that the same maths can be used to solve multiple problems. This means that it may not be immediately obvious to know what branch of mathematics is best suited to addressing a particular problem and it’s not always straightforward to find a forum where you can get feedback on the different mathematical techniques that could be applied.

This conference aims to bring together a wide variety of participants and topics applying a variety of mathematical methods with defence and security applications. The programme will include invited speakers, presentations and poster sessions, as well as refreshment breaks for informal discussions. It is aimed towards mathematicians, scientists and engineers from both industry and academia, in addition to government and military personnel who have an interest in how mathematics can be applied to defence and security problems.

This will be the seventh Mathematics in Defence and Security Conference and the second with ‘Security’ explicitly mentioned in the title; the previous conferences each attracted over 100 delegates from a wide range of organisations including Dstl, QinetiQ, AWE, BAE Systems, Thales, Rolls Royce, the IMA, the MoD, academia and international parties.

This conference will take place at Imperial College London, London SW7 2BX, UK.

Invited Speakers

Jason Field
Richard Pinch: Mathematical challenges in security
Tim Watson: Defence and Security at The Alan Turing Institute
Richard Lane: Behavioural Analytics: Mathematics of the Mind
Rachel Craddock