Seminars in Mathematical Sciences

Seminars in the next week
Jul 22 (Wed)

12:00 MJC2006 ApplCath Noakes (Durham): Creating an Infection Resilient Environment

The pandemic highlighted how important the indoor environment is for transmission of infection. Airborne transmission is now accepted as the dominant mode for COVID-19, but there are multiple questions that remain around the specific mechanisms for pathogen transmission and how to determine which mitigations are most effective.

Modelling is an important strategy for understanding the factors that influence risks. Simple models such as the Wells-Riley approach are widely used to make the case for interventions such as ventilation. However, transmission involves a complex chain of events that such models struggle to capture. The transmission process is determined by spatial and transient interactions of physics, biology and chemistry as well as human behaviours. Measuring real-world infection outcomes is challenging, and even where it is possible, it is difficult to unpick the relative importance of different components.

Despite all of this complexity, policy makers and practitioners need evidence that can be easily translated into advice. This talk considers how we can model the processes involved in transmission, where we have evidence and where there are gaps. It considers the challenge of trading off simple advice with complex realities and explores how much we can provide effective and practical protection from transmission in the built environment.

Professor Cath Noakes OBE is the Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation and Professor of Environmental Engineering for Buildings at the University of Leeds, UK. She is a chartered engineer with substantial experience leading research into buildings and health, particularly around ventilation, air quality and infection control. She has worked closely with policy particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, including contributing to UK SAGE committee, NHS guidance on healthcare environments, WHO groups, and work with the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Venue: MJC2006


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Current and Upcoming Events

These events are hosted in and/or organised by members of the Department (follow links for details):

Sep 09--11 [tba] Durham Symposium: Mathematical Approaches to Spatial Biology

Upcoming Seminars by Series

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• Amplitudes and Correlators

Contact: arthur.lipstein@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• Analysis and PDE

Usual Venue: MCS2068

Contact: yohance.a.osborne@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• Applied Mathematics

Usual Venue: MCS3070

Contact: andrew.krause@durham.ac.uk

Jul 22 12:00 Cath Noakes (Durham): Creating an Infection Resilient Environment

The pandemic highlighted how important the indoor environment is for transmission of infection. Airborne transmission is now accepted as the dominant mode for COVID-19, but there are multiple questions that remain around the specific mechanisms for pathogen transmission and how to determine which mitigations are most effective.

Modelling is an important strategy for understanding the factors that influence risks. Simple models such as the Wells-Riley approach are widely used to make the case for interventions such as ventilation. However, transmission involves a complex chain of events that such models struggle to capture. The transmission process is determined by spatial and transient interactions of physics, biology and chemistry as well as human behaviours. Measuring real-world infection outcomes is challenging, and even where it is possible, it is difficult to unpick the relative importance of different components.

Despite all of this complexity, policy makers and practitioners need evidence that can be easily translated into advice. This talk considers how we can model the processes involved in transmission, where we have evidence and where there are gaps. It considers the challenge of trading off simple advice with complex realities and explores how much we can provide effective and practical protection from transmission in the built environment.

Professor Cath Noakes OBE is the Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation and Professor of Environmental Engineering for Buildings at the University of Leeds, UK. She is a chartered engineer with substantial experience leading research into buildings and health, particularly around ventilation, air quality and infection control. She has worked closely with policy particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, including contributing to UK SAGE committee, NHS guidance on healthcare environments, WHO groups, and work with the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Venue: MJC2006

• Arithmetic Study Group

Usual Venue: MCS2068

Contact: herbert.gangl@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• CPT Colloquium

Usual Venue: OC218

Contact: mohamed.anber@durham.ac.uk

For more information, see HERE.


No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• Department Research Colloquium

Usual Venue: MCS0001

Contact: inaki.garcia-etxebarria@durham.ac.uk,sunil.chhita@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• Distinguished and Public Lectures

Usual Venue: MCS0001

Contact: alpar.r.meszaros@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• Education and Pedagogy

Usual Venue: MCS3052

Contact: andrew.krause@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• Gandalf

Usual Venue: MCS3070

Contact: daniel.n.disney@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• Geometry and Topology

Usual Venue: MCS2068

Contact: martin.p.kerin@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• HEP Journal Club

Usual Venue: MCS3070

Contact: mendel.t.nguyen@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• HEP Lunchtime

Usual Venue: MCS0001

Contact: p.e.dorey@durham.ac.uk,enrico.andriolo@durham.ac.uk,tobias.p.hansen@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• Probability

Usual Venue: MCS2068

Contact: tyler.helmuth@durham.ac.uk,oliver.kelsey-tough@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• Pure Maths Colloquium

Usual Venue: MCS2068

Contact: michael.r.magee@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• Spectra and Moduli

Usual Venue: MCS3070

Contact: joe.thomas@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• Statistics

Usual Venue: MCS2068

Contact: hyeyoung.maeng@durham.ac.uk,andrew.iskauskas@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

• Stats4Grads

Contact: adam.stone2@durham.ac.uk

No upcoming seminars have been scheduled (not unusual outside term time).

Special Series

These link to some of the special events hosted by the Department:


• [LMS|EPSRC] Durham Symposia (from 1974)
• Collingwood Lectures (from 1984)