‘Making it Real’ (the project’s title which was devised before David Beckham published the latest installment of his biography!), will address problems as varied as controlling epileptic fits, making robots walk like humans, understanding why things rattle, and the full-scale testing of aeroplane components.

All these questions will be addressed using new mathematics to be developed by researchers based in the Bristol Centre for Applied Nonlinear Mathematics.

Professor John Hogan, leading the project, said: “This funding is a huge endorsement of our approach to applying mathematics to practical problems. More importantly, it will allow us to attract the world’s top researchers in the field to come and work with us in Bristol on some very challenging real-world problems.”

The new centre will be based in the Department of Engineering Mathematics, which is unique in the UK in that mathematical research and teaching are based in a vibrant engineering faculty.  The group also enjoy fruitful research contacts with the departments of biological sciences and physiology.

The project will run over four years and employ a number of research assistants and post graduate students to work on specific real-world challenges, such as the ones above. Part of the grant is for an extended visitor program with annual workshops.

The Engineering and Physical Research Council provided 80 per cent of the funding, with the University of Bristol providing the remaining 20 per cent.