Data insights: Professor Adrian Bowman
Issued: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 12:56:00 BST
Statistics is a field that offers students the chance to combine rigorous scientific methodology with important real-world applications. Professor of Statistics Adrian Bowman has a long-standing interest in spatiotemporal data, which is of relevance to numerous different applications.
Professor of Statistics Adrian Bowman has a long-standing interest in spatiotemporal data, which is of relevance to numerous different applications. Spatiotemporal data routinely occurs in environmental settings, for example, where monitors located in different regions gather data over time.
The same data structure can occur in brain imaging where, in electroencephalography (EEG) or magnetoencephalography (MEG), an array of sensors across the scalp or the surface of the head gather information over time. In both these cases, the same data structure leads to the possibility of the same kinds of models that can give powerful insight into what is happening.
‘The Statistics group at Glasgow combines a strong interest in methodology, the tools, concepts and ideas of statistics with serious interests in applications so there’s a lot of interdisciplinary work going on,’ says Professor Bowman, who works closely with people in environmental studies, engineering, health, and medicine.
‘Methodology is the core, and none of the applications would be possible without serious scientific expertise on the methodology.’
The research group has strong connections with environmental agencies such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the Environment Agency in England, and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
These collaborations have led to research secondments for postgraduate students, and other opportunities have seen students travelling abroad to work with high-profile scientific groups such as the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation in Australia.
‘Good research is almost always international these days so we have many international links,’ says Professor Bowman. ‘We are well connected nationally and internationally and there are good opportunities for postgraduates to pursue and develop those networks.’
There are several options for postgraduate study at Glasgow, including a PhD degree and a variety of MSc programmes. ‘We are always very keen to recruit good students, to maintain a strong cohort and a strong student community,’ says Professor Bowman. ‘We work hard to obtain as much funding as we can to create student opportunities.’
The EPSRC Mathematical Sciences Programme and the University of Glasgow Scholarship Programme have both provided postgraduate funding, but it doesn’t stop there. Researchers are sometimes able to create scholarships themselves through links with external sponsors.
‘The ability to understand, model, analyse and interpret data is absolutely fundamental to a huge array of applications,’ concludes Professor Bowman. ‘There are plenty of opportunities here for really interesting, exciting projects, which combine methodology and application in a very supportive and indeed enjoyable environment.’
Related pages
<< Researchers