Recent Stories
- Unborn babies 'practise' facial expressions in the womb
- Lancaster leads the way in cyber security bursary scheme
- Physicists gain insight into the UK's biggest killer
- Engineering students make finals of national start-up business competition
- Social media plagued by privacy problems, say researchers
- Lancaster Environment Centre conducts roadside pollution research for BBC
- Lancaster set to receive funding boost to stimulate UK's economy
- Billion-year-old water could hold clues to life on Earth and Mars
- How do we find out about cyber criminals?
- First, carbon footprints... now you can calculate your 'nitrogen footprint'
Official Launch of the LANCS Initiative in Foundational Operational Research
Story supplied by LU Press Office
Green Logistics research cluster leader Professor Richard Eglese (Lancaster University), (centre) with Sue Merchant (President of the Operational Research Society) and Dr Tolga Bektas (University of Southampton)
The formal launch of the LANCS Initiative was held at The Institution of Engineering and Technology in London on Wednesday 20 May.
Hosted by Lancaster University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Wellings, the event was attended by 145 national and international academic guests and representatives of UK industry and government (including British Airways, Royal Bank of Scotland, Unilever, Brawn Formula One Racing Team, Transport for London, HM Revenue and Customs and the Home Office).
The LANCS Initiative is a collaboration between four of the UK's leading universities in Operational Research (OR) - Lancaster, Nottingham, Cardiff and Southampton (LaNCS).
The consortium brings together the complementary perspectives of mathematics, computer science and management science. The Initiative is led by Kevin Glazebrook, Distinguished Professor in Operational Research and joint member of Lancaster's Department of Management Science and Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the four participating institutions are funding the £13 million Initiative for five years (2008 to 2013).
The central goal of the LANCS Initiative is the delivery of a significant expansion of the national research base in foundational OR. This will be achieved by an extensive programme of academic recruitment and training and through the establishment of networks of leading edge collaborative research centred on the OR groups at the four universities.
The Knowledge Transfer Network in Industrial Mathematics is supporting an industrial outreach strategy, thereby ensuring that research outcomes are effectively communicated to users.
Three of the LANCS Initiative's principal research themes seek to bring new OR approaches to bear on major societal, economic and environmental concerns; healthcare, transport and green logistics.
Two of the speakers at the launch, David Bishop (Head of Policy at the Airport Operators Association) and Peter Jones OBE (the Mayor of London's appointee on the capital's Waste and Recycling Board), described the significance of OR's contribution to these areas of national and international importance.
The third speaker, Dr Lesley Thompson (Director of the Research Base at the EPSRC), spoke powerfully of the vital need to strengthen the UK's research base in OR.
A drinks reception followed the presentations, where guests were invited to explore engagement opportunities with members of the research teams and view demonstrations showcasing OR applications and achievement.
Most of the 25 members of the LANCS Scientific and Industrial Advisory Boards attended the launch and also the inaugural board meetings, which took place the following day in London.
Tue 02 June 2009
Associated Links
- LANCS Initiative - a £13 million initiative to 'build and maintain national research capacity in foundational O.R.'
Latest News
Unborn babies 'practise' facial expressions in the womb
Researchers from Durham and Lancaster Universities suggest that a foetus's ability to show a "pain" facial expression is a developmental process which could potentially give doctors another index of the health of a foetus.
Story supplied by LU Press Office
Mon 17 June 2013
Lancaster leads the way in cyber security bursary scheme
Lancaster is one of four UK universities selected to take part in an 'industry first' sponsorship initiative encouraging students to take up Masters-level cyber security degrees.
Story supplied by LU Press Office
Mon 10 June 2013
Physicists gain insight into the UK's biggest killer
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the UK, accounting for a third of all fatalities through illnesses such as stroke and heart disease.
Story supplied by LU Press Office
Wed 29 May 2013
Engineering students make finals of national start-up business competition
Engineering students Scott Nash, Daniel Richardson and Aaron Aboshio have won the northern heat of the Youth Entrepreneurs Scheme 'Engineering YES' competition for their spin-out renewable energy company Atlantis.
Thu 23 May 2013