Vital science

The

is establishing a £3m research centre dedicated to developing new science applicable to manufacturing processes, power station planning and analysis of the human body.

The Centre for Interdisciplinary Computational And Dynamical Analysis (CICADA) – which brings together computer scientists, mathematicians and engineers – is being established with a £1.75m grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Researchers are aiming to develop new fundamental knowledge and techniques, which in the long-term could be applied in many different areas, including flight controllers in aircraft and car safety systems.

The work will focus on systems in which there are complex interactions between components that switch discretely and other components that change continuously.

Life or death

Techniques developed by computer scientists to make sure computer programmes work correctly – particularly important in safety critical situations – cannot be used in these systems due to the element of continuous change.

Modern society is relying increasingly on computer microprocessors in circumstances where failure might result in loss of life.