For further details, please contact:

Dr. Sophie Dale

Interdisciplinary Bridging Officer

bridgingthegaps at nottingham.ac.uk

Tel: 0115 84 68923

     
Image Analysis Sandpit - December 08

 

The Image Analysis Sandpit took place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nottingham on December 15th and 16th 2008. The event was attended by 18 staff from 10 different schools – providing a single venue for staff usually spread between 3 campuses!

 

Click here to view photos of the Sandpit (UoN access)

 

The event incorporated time for participants to network and to find out about other participants’s work – the preceding makefest had been particularly useful in identifying a large number of initial links between participants. Following idea generation sessions, three proposals were developed and were submitted to the judging panel using a Dragons’ Den style format. After much deliberation, the £30,000 prize pool was used to fund two projects with £15,000 each:-

 

  • Modelling Animal Behaviour using Multi-target Tracking – Jon Huxley (Veterinary Medicine and Science), Andrew French (Biosciences), Chris Brignell (Mathematical Sciences) and Tony Pridmore (Computer Science). This project will use the tracking of cattle to give a model of healthy animal behaviour, thus providing early warning of unhealthy animals through the identification of abnormal behaviour. A research associate will be employed for 6 months.

 

  • MARS-3D: Three-Dimensional Modelling and Analysis of the Renal System – Ali Mobasheri (Veterinary Medicine and Science) and Alain Pitiot (Psychology). This project will develop software for the reconstruction of 3-D histological volumes from 2-D images of tissue sections, aiding research and diagnosis of renal and urinary disorders. A research associate will be employed for 5 months.

 

Both winning teams have defined strategies for their projects, utilising their funding as pump-prime feasibility funding, with the intention of applying for external follow-on funding at the end of their projects.