Organisation profile

The Applied Nonlinear Mathematics research group is world leading in Nonlinear Dynamics and Complexity. The group has a long and successful history of solving problems in applications, developing new mathematical approaches and models, as well as numerical algorithms.

Research in the group covers a wide range of theoretical and computational topics (piecewise smooth systems, numerics for dynamical systems, nonlinear waves, global bifurcation theory, delay differential equations, control theory and networks) together with many end-user applications.

The interdisciplinary research environment was recognised in 2002 by the award of the first EPSRC Multidisciplinary Critical Mass grant (worth over £1M) and in 2007 with the follow-up funding of £1.6M for Applied Nonlinear Mathematics: Making It Real. The group has held over 25 interdisciplinary research meetings in the last 10 years and averages 30-40 research visitors each year for periods ranging from one week to nine months.

The ANM group also plays a major role in the Bristol Centre for Complexity Sciences (BCCS), an integrated multidisciplinary Doctoral Training Centre in Complexity Sciences built around a theory hub with strong interplay with a range of interconnected applications areas.

The idea that real-world challenges and mathematical theory can form a virtuous circle is a fundamental part of the philosophy of the group. A steady stream of problems from industry and society at large drives forward new mathematical theories and approaches. In turn, these new mathematics are used to generate novel solutions to the original problems. By operating in this way, the research of the ANM group remains highly relevant to the wider world.

At the heart of the ANM group is the virtuous circle of real-world challenges driving new mathematics which, in turn, drives new solutions to the challenges.