The Centre for Doctoral Training MAC-MIGS will provide advanced training in the formulation, analysis, and implementation of state-of-the-art mathematical and computational models. The vision for the training offered is that effective modern modelling must integrate data with laws framed in explicit, rigorous mathematical terms. The CDT will offer 76 PhD students an intensive 4-year training and research programme that equips them with the skills needed to tackle the challenges of data-intensive modelling. The new generation of successful modelling experts will be able to develop and analyse mathematical models, translate them into efficient computer codes that make best use of available data, interpret the results, and communicate throughout the process with users in industry, commerce and government. Mathematical and computational models are at the heart of 21st-century technology: they underpin science, medicine and, increasingly, social sciences, and impact many sectors of the economy including high-value manufacturing, healthcare, energy, physical infrastructure and national planning. When combined with the enormous computing power and volume of data now available, these models provide unmatched predictive tools which capture systematically the experimental and observational evidence available. Because they are based on sound deductive principles, they are also the only effective tool in many problems where data is either sparse or, as is often the case, acquired in conditions that differ from the relevant real-world scenarios. Developing and exploiting these models requires a broad range of skills - from abstract mathematics to computing and data science - combined with expertise in application areas. MAC-MIGS will equip its students with these skills through a broad programme that cuts across disciplinary boundaries to include mathematical analysis - pure, applied, numerical and stochastic - data-science and statistics techniques and the domain-specific advanced knowledge necessary for cutting-edge applications. MAC-MIGS students will join the broader Maxwell Institute Graduate School in its brand-new base located in central Edinburgh. They will benefit from (i) dedicated academic training in subjects that include mathematical analysis, computational mathematics, multi-scale modelling, model reduction, Bayesian inference, uncertainty quantification, inverse problems and data assimilation, and machine learning; (ii) extensive experience of collaborative and interdisciplinary work through projects, modelling camps, industrial sandpits and internships; (iii) outstanding early-career training, with a strong focus on entrepreneurship; and (iv) a dynamic and forward-looking community of mathematicians and scientists, sharing strong values of collaboration, respect, and social and scientific responsibility. The students will integrate a vibrant research environment, closely interacting with some 80 MAC-MIGS academics comprised of mathematicians from the universities of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt as well as computer scientists, engineers, physicists and chemists providing their own disciplinary expertise. Students will benefit from MAC-MIGS's diverse network of more than 30 industrial and agency partners spanning a broad spectrum of application areas: energy, engineering design, finance, computer technology, healthcare and the environment. These partners will provide internships, development programmes and research projects, and help maximise the impact of our students' work. Our network of academic partners representing ten leading institutions in the US and Europe, will further provide opportunities for collaborations and research visits.

Awaiting Public Project Summary

By 2030, our planet will not be able to feed the people living on it. New solutions for food production as well as new food sources are pressingly needed. According to several reports, such as https://www.bcg.com/publications/2022/combating-climate-crisis-with-alternative-protein, using cell cultures is one of the most promising solutions to combat future population hunger. However, scaling up those productions has been shown as a massive technological bottleneck.uFraction8 developed novel bio-separation instruments that can effectively, sustainably, and at low cost, harvest and dewater cellular biomass. uFraction8 has already proven this with cultures of yeast and microalgae - microscopic seaweeds. Today's world is excited about the next big thing - cultured meat - where just a few cells taken from the animal can allow the production of thousands of burgers. However, working with animal cells is much more complex than culturing or fermenting yeast and microalgae. Mammalian cells are not only notoriously difficult to grow but also very sensitive to external factors, making processing cultured meat an extremely difficult task. Results collected to date from testing uFraction8's microfluidics bio-separation instruments give great bases to believe that uFraction8 microfluidics devices will be a perfect solution for handling meat cultures, enabling industrial production of non-kill meat. The ecological and ethical benefits of such meat production are beyond imagining. Reduction of cruelty, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, reduction of antibiotics and other chemicals used in industrial meat production. All that is possible only if companies like uFraction8 can support cultured meat innovators with emerging technologies for industrial production which will allow them not only to prove that cultured meat is possible but also to scale productions to the capacity needed to feed our constantly growing population.

This project is to develop and test a change to the material and construction of uFraction8's stacked microfluidic bioseparation system prototyped in partnership with Smallfoood Inc, Canada, for the production of novel protein sources (from microbial culture) supported by InnovateUK project 105617\. uFraction8's technology enhance the productivity of food production processes. The design of uFraction8's core microfluidic components changed dramatically over the course of the previous project and has led to potential complications with manufacture at scale of the new designs. Though the proof of concept (PoC) demonstrated the desired performance benefits to Smallfood Inc. and the broader market, it requires further innovation and development to find a scalable manufacturing solution to be able to economically produce the newly developed design. This project will explore the use of polymer materials to replace the stainless steel used in the PoC. By changing the material, several engineering aspects need to be reconsidered around patterning, construction, alignment and sealing of the stacked microfluidic modules. Using rapid prototyping and specialist subcontractors to explore the two identified approaches to patterning and three types of bonding, validation testing will be carried out in the same manner as the original PoC was tested and validated. The test platform built during 105617 will be re-used. Initial performance testing will be characterised in-house using representative precision microbeads and analytical equipment (spectrophotometry and haemocytometry). Subsequently, a full-scale batch of culture will be grown through our subcontractor and analysed by dry weight and flow cytometry. By establishing a new process for the economical manufacture of stacked microfluidic bioseparation systems, uFraction8 will enhance productivity for food processing technologies. The efficient bioseparation performance demonstrated by the PoC will be deployed into the market at scale, maximising the impact of the innovation developed through the previously supported work.

no public description