Swansea University’s mathematics PhD student Xavier Crean is set to share his research with MPs eager to understand the latest scientific and technological advances.
As part of the annual STEM for Britain competition, Xavier will be at the House of Commons on March 11 to display a poster on his work in the field of colour confinement - a still-to-be understood property of the elementary strong interaction which underpins the existence of protons and neutrons.
Xavier’s research is done in collaboration with Professor Biagio Lucini at Swansea and Professor Jeffrey Giansiracusa at the University of Durham.
Xavier said: “I’m very pleased to be representing the Swansea maths department. This will be a great opportunity to showcase my research, which involves applying topological data analysis – a cutting-edge field combining topology and data science – to one of the most challenging open problems in theoretical particle physics.”
Professor Lucini said: “The confinement problem is one of the most important open questions in particle physics. It is one of the Millennium Problems identified by the Clay Institute, which is offering $1 million dollars for its solution.
“Xavier has been making tremendous progress, combining physical understanding with the techniques of an emerging mathematical methodology and the use of modern supercomputers in what is a truly multidisciplinary endeavour.
“We are really excited by our current results and look forward to the outcomes of studies we are undertaking.”
Organised by the Parliamentary & Scientific Committee, STEM for Britain is an annual poster competition which attracts the best early career research scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians (STEM) from around the UK, while also nurturing a conversation between researchers and MPs.
Swansea West MP Torsten Bell said: “Congratulations to Xavier on making it to the final of this major competition and best of luck on the last hurdle. STEM for Britain plays a vital role in recognising outstanding early career researchers and showcasing their work to parliamentarians. It’s great to see the cutting-edge research being developed at Swansea University receive some of the recognition it deserves.”
Professor Gibin Powathil, head of mathematics and a former participant himself, said: “Being chosen from thousands of early-career researchers across the UK to present his outstanding research to Parliamentarians is a remarkable achievement. It clearly highlights the exceptional quality of research that we do at Swansea Mathematics. We wish Xavier the very best in this competition.”
Xavier’s research is supported by a prestigious fellowship of the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research.
Find out more about studying mathematics at Swansea