New FAME Flagship brings the most advanced methods of inverse mathematics and physics to serve society and industry
The FAME Flagship is based on leading research into inverse problems. Many imaging methods , such as X-ray and ultrasound imaging, make use of mathematics related to inverse problems. Other large-scale applications can be found in the seismological research of crust movements and earthquakes, for example.
The FAME consortium is led by the University of Eastern Finland and includes, besides the Ģֱ, Aalto University, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the University of Helsinki, LUT University, the University of Oulu, and the University of Tampere. In addition, the Flagship has cooperation partners from several hospitals and different companies.
At the Ģֱ, the research team for inverse problems within the Flagship is led by Professor Mikko Salo and Academy Research Fellow Joonas Ilmavirta from theDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics.
New expertise for business and society
The Flagship aims to bring the most advanced methods of inverse mathematics and physics to serve society.
In inverse problems, the purpose is to find out a reason when the consequence is known. Such problems are recurrent in many fields of science and industry, and inverse mathematics investigates the mathematical basis and methods for this search, by which the reason is eventually concluded.
Within the Flagship project, new solutions based on leading research are developed for the needs of industrial partners and the public sector related to health care, clean technology and sustainable environment. In addition, the Flagship trains experts capable of multidisciplinary work.
Popularised science communication is an important part of the Flagship project.
“One of the most important goals in the Flagship is to develop scientific expertise for the benefit of society,” says Professor Mikko Salo from the JYU Department of Mathematics and Statistics. “Moreover, we seek to bring this expertise into practice and make it concretely available for the users.”
The Flagship community is a combination of new and old. More than 25 years old, the cooperation network is well established and provides a solid foundation for striving, along with new partners, for previously unachieved results.
“The community covers a wide spectrum of groups and researchers, from pure theory to applications in medical and industrial fields, for example,” Salo says. “Through our joint efforts, we can accomplish more, do so more quickly as well as reach more effective outcomes.”
JYU to focus on imaging and training
At the Ģֱ, research into inverse problems is concentrated on mathematical models for medical and seismic imaging. A particular focus is on studying the mathematical basis of indirect measurement.
Many interesting objects must be measured indirectly: We cannot enter the interior of Earth for any direct measurements, neither can a physician remove a patient’s bone to examine if it is broken. The Flagship research searches for breakthrough potential for the utilisation of non-linear, non-local and non-isotropic properties.
“All these three properties are very difficult to handle in mathematical terms,” says Academy Research Fellow Joonas Ilmavirta from the JYU Department of Mathematics and Statistics. “Moreover, they have usually been excluded from models, but surprisingly enough, including these in indirect methods makes the methods more powerful. All of these can be utilised, for example, in seismic imaging, thereby facilitating, for instance, the exploration of natural resources, prediction of earthquakes, and investigation of inner planetary structures.”
In addition, the Ģֱ has a special task to coordinate training in the Flagship fields at the national level. Courses in these fields will be organised in connection with Jyväskylä International Summer School starting in August 2024.
A long journey in developing new technologies
The Flagship has industrial partners working in the fields of health care, clean technology, and sustainable environment. Together with FAME, they will create new solutions for their technologies.
When researching the mathematical basis of phenomena, the actual connection to technology often remains ambiguous.
| 1. | Proving mathematically that, in principle, something can be measured indirectly. |
| 2. | Finding a mathematical method for indirect measurement, the inference sensitivity of which is known. |
| 3. | Carrying out the method numerically and applying it to computer-generated data. |
| 4. |
Discovering the operating principle of the measuring device. |
| 5. | Constructing the measuring device. |
| 6. | Getting the numeric method to work on measured data. |
| 7. |
Translating the methodology into something interesting for an enterprise. |
| 8. |
The enterprise becomes interested and starts developing it further. |
| 9. | Receiving, for example, necessary clinical permits for using the method. |
| 10. | Generating a working commercially viable technology. |
Each of the above steps takes years and calls for particular kind of expertise.
“However, all the phases are necessary before, for instance, new medical imaging technology is adopted,” says Joonas Ilmavirta. “At the Ģֱ, we are studying mainly Phase 1, and to some extent also Phase 2. The needs of industry also create new scientific questions which we seek to answer.”
The Flagship projects of the Research Council of Finland involve consortiums of expertise that incorporate high-quality research and diverse scientific and societal impact as well as strong cooperation with corporations and other societal actors.
