Optimising our world with mathematical models - with Jane Hillston

How do we model the world around us? And how can new algorithms help us face our resource-hungry modern society? Watch the Q&A here (exclusively for our Science Supporters): https://youtu.be/g4tr_KZQPS0 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYeF244yNGuFefuFKqxIAXw/join This lecture was recorded at the Ri on 15 March 2025. How long is the security queue at the airport going to be? How many calls can a call centre handle each day? Availability of resources affects the behaviour of countless systems which we interact with on a daily basis. Formulae developed decades ago are still used to model aspects of our lives, treating resources as “servers” and resource-users as “customers”. However, in this modern, highly connected world, how do we move beyond simple queueing networks to represent systems of interest? In this talk, informatics expert Jane Hillston expands our understanding of how we model the world around us, and show how we can open up new domains by using this approach, including cellular biology and ecology. She illustrates that understanding how resource use constrains the possible behaviour of a system can help design algorithms that overcome those constraints to improve performance, using the recent work on BFT blockchain, and explore current challenges including performance management for resource-hungry applications like generative AI. --- Jane Hillston is Professor of Quantitative Modelling in the School of Informatics and Dean of Research Culture in the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. Her research is concerned with formal approaches to modelling dynamic behaviour of resource-based discrete event systems. This includes everything from cloud computing to biological processes, to transport systems in smart cities. Her research has been recognised by a number of awards including the RSE Lord Kelvin Medal, the BCS Lovelace Award and Fellowship of the Royal Society. She was Head of School in School of Informatics from 2018—2023 and Deputy Vice Principal Research 2020—2022. Professor Hillston was awarded an MBE in the Kings Birthday Honours List in 2023 in recognition of her contribution to computer science and women in science. The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ri_science Listen to the Ri podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ri-science-podcast Donate to the RI and help us bring you more lectures: https://www.rigb.org/support-us/donate-ri Our editorial policy: https://www.rigb.org/editing-ri-talks-and-moderating-comments Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.