ECS Computer Scientist Takes his Research to Parliament

Dr. Long Tran-Thanh, a research fellow at University of Southampton, hailing from Hue, Vietnam (but grew up in Budapest, Hungary), is attending Parliament to present his science to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges, as part of "SET for Britain" on Monday 17 March.

Long’s poster on research about budget-limited multi-armed bandits will be judged against dozens of other mathematicians’ research in the only national competition of its kind.

Long was shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to appear in Parliament.

On presenting his research in Parliament, he said, “As a theoretical research scientist, I believe it is very important to communicate scientific results and their applicability to everyday life to a wider audience. As such, I am very excited about this event as it gives us, research scientists, a fantastic opportunity to convey the message about the importance of science to the decision makers in the governmentâ€?.

Andrew Miller MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, said, “This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs an opportunity to speak to a wide range of the country’s best young researchers. “These early career engineers, mathematicians and scientists are the architects of our future and SET for Britain is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.â€?

Long’s research has been entered into the Mathematics session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.

Judged by leading academics, the gold medalist receives £3,000, while silver and bronze receive £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.

Professor Nicholas Woodhouse, President of the Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI), sponsors of the Gold Mathematical Sciences award, said, “CMI is delighted to support the inaugural SET for Britain Mathematical Sciences exhibition. The Institute is dedicated to increasing and disseminating mathematical knowledge and supports the work of leading researchers throughout the world at various stages of their careers. The future of mathematics in the UK is both challenging and exciting and we believe it is essential to nurture the best technical talentâ€?.

Sir Adrian Smith, Chair, the Council for the Mathematical Sciences (CMS) said: “The CMS is delighted that the mathematical sciences have been involved in this prestigious event for the very first time; it is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the importance of the mathematical sciences to a wider audience. It is paramount to encourage early-career research scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians and the SET for Britain event is a very effective way of doing this. We have been encouraged by the enthusiastic response from early-career researchers in the mathematical sciences and feel sure this will this continue in the futureâ€?.

The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee run the event in collaboration with the Council for Mathematical Sciences, the Institute of Physics, The Physiological Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Society of Biology and the Society of Chemical Industry, with financial support from BP, the Clay Mathematics Institute, Essar, INEOS, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), Germains Seed Technology, Boeing, the Bank of England and the Institute of Biomedical Science.