UKZN Academic Receives Award at iSteams 2014 Conference in Nigeria

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Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at UKZN’s School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science (SMSCS), Dr Aderemi Adewumi, attended the iSTEAMS 2014 Conference at the Afe Babalola University in Nigeria where he delivered a keynote address on: “Biomimicry: Nature’s Solutions to Complex Multidisciplinary Problems”.

Adewumi received an honours award from the organisers in recognition of his contributions toward multi-disciplinary research efforts and the Conference.

The iSTEAMS Research Nexus Conference is a series of ???International Conferences on Science, Technology, Education, Arts, Management and the Social Sciences held at various locations around the world.

The focus of these conferences is the exploration of how innovative technologies can aid research and development. This focus is enhanced by the multi-disciplinary approach employed by these conferences which seek to emphasise collaborative research which, it is believed, will better address challenges being experienced globally across socio-economic, political, scientific, infrastructural and human capital development boundaries.

The theme for the 2014 iSTEAMS Research Nexus Conference was: “Together Toward Tomorrow: Leveraging on Multidisciplinary Research for Human Capital”.

Adewumi’s talk presented an overview of Biomimicry as a discipline that looks into nature (and natural systems) for inspiration in creating more sustainable designs and solutions that address many multidisciplinary problems.

‘The goal is to study, learn from (and not simply about), and mimic nature in solving the myriad current human challenges existing in many fields of study including mathematics, engineering, architecture, management, to mention a few,’ said Adewumi.

‘I presented few examples of how nature has inspired many designs and solutions in real life while pinning it down to the work done by our research group in optimisation and modelling.’

Participants at the Conference came from a variety of countries including the United States, South Africa, various West African centres and Nigeria.

Adewumi’s presentation was well-received and applauded, with his presentation being lauded as an eye-opener to many in respect of research breakthroughs, possible collaborations and directions.

Adewumi, who was attending the Conference for the second consecutive time, also gave a presentation in 2013 on the topic of: “Nature-Inspired Solutions to Natural Challenges: A Multidisciplinary Perspective”.  The emphasis of Adewumi’s 2013 presentation was on how nature provides inspiration for the design of many algorithms and techniques to solve complex, real-world problems.  The presentation then was narrowed down to a nature and bio-inspired paradigm of swarm intelligence techniques for solving complex optimisation problems.

The moderator of Adewumi’s 2014 presentation remarked that the memory of his 2013 keynote address was compounded with an innovative, thought-provoking presentation which expanded on his 2013 presentation by providing a broader view of how nature can provide inspiration for solving multi-disciplinary problems through the broader field of biomimetics. The moderator also highlighted the importance of the presentation in inspiring those present to new research efforts.

The optimisation and  modelling research group led by Adewumi is  part of the Artificial Intelligence research efforts of the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science which seeks to study real-world problems existing in many facets of life and research, model them where necessary and develop intelligent and efficient techniques for solving them.  Examples of the problems the group looks at emanate from areas as diverse as medical science, telecommunications, transport management, education, communication, industry, sport and agriculture.

Adewumi said he interacted with people at the Conference who wanted to learn more about the topic and about UKZN, and to receive insight that could assist with their own research endeavours.  Adewumi also met top students who expressed interest in pursuing postgraduate studies at UKZN. 

Before departing, Adewumi and other keynote speakers, together with the organisers, had a meeting with the Chancellor of the recently-established, leading private University where the Conference was held.  The Chancellor was impressed to learn about UKZN and expressed interest in future collaborative agreements with the University, particularly in the area of postgraduate training.

-          Words by Christine Cuénod

-          Photograph courtesy of Dr Aderemi Adewumi