Student projects

On this programme you'll have the opportunity to work on fascinating and wide-ranging projects. Below are example projects from the MSc Engineering Mathematics degree.

• Colliding raindrops: how particles increase their size

  Failing to predict that rain falls below freezing temperatures in current climate models may give higher cloud reflectivity and underestimate the effects of global warming. As rain droplets freeze depending on their size, this project aims to investigate the role of collisions in the growth of rain particles within a cloud. It is found that droplets within a cloud will collide readily, provided the Reynolds number of the cloud is high enough. Provided Reynolds number is large enough, rain is shown to form through collisions in under two minutes. For low Reynolds numbers, on the other hand, it is found that showers take much longer to develop and last much longer.

• Mathematical modelling of multi-class traffic on multi-lane highways

  With the continuous increase of vehicular traffic there is a pressing need to develop more intelligent management strategies. This project developed a theory that predicted the speed of a mix of different vehicle types driving together on a one lane motorway. Using the assumption that each driver tries to maximise his/her own speed, the theory predicted under certain conditions which drivers will choose which lanes.

• Learning from the crowd to design nanoparticles for cancer treatment

  As treating cancer is still difficult, with predictions of the number of new cases in the next two decades expected to rise 70%, multiple treatments have been designed with many more being researched. One proposal for cancer treatment is to inject nanoparticles into the blood stream that can target cancerous cells without a negative impact on healthy cells. This project proposed crowd-sourcing nanoparticle treatments through a variety of simulations to help scientists refine nanoparticle designs to battle cancer growth.