A leading scientist at Imaging CoE has reached out to new areas at Monash to encourage greater collaboration across different subjects and disciplines at the university.

Assoc. Professor Hans Elmlund spoke about his research on ‘Single Particle Imaging by Electron Microscopy’ to MAXIMA – Monash Academy of Cross and Interdisciplinary Mathematical Applications – which is the research platform at the Faculty of Science that is increasing impact through the use of mathematical tools in interdisciplinary research right across Monash.

But A/Prof. Elmlund had to be captivating and succinct when putting his ideas across to new audience when he appeared at one of MAXIMA’s ’15 minutes of FAME’ seminars. Started in 2016, FAME (which stands for Find a Mathematical Expert) gives researchers in other fields the opportunity to speak to a room full of mathematicians, for a maximum of a quarter of an hour.

A/Prof.  Elmlund’s research problem needs input from experts in applied mathematics and information technology to achieve a breakthrough, and the platform offered at the FAME seminar gave him the chance to tap into new areas of expertise.

Further progress did not just rely on A/Prof.  Elmlund’s presentation on the day itself, as, like all of MAXIMA’s FAME seminars, it is available to view on MAXIMA Monash’s YouTube channel.

A/Prof. Elmlund’s presentation has brought about the hoped-for collaborations, with members of the School of Mathematical Sciences and the Faculty of Information Technology discussing the problem in detail in a meeting arranged by MAXIMA. The aim is that well-defined collaborative research projects will come to fruition as a result.

“It’s fun to collaborate, research is a social not solitary activity,” declares A/Prof. Elmlund. “It’s interesting to cross disciplinary borders, learn new things and advance science.”

Speaking at the FAME seminar has made A/Prof. Elmlund more aware of the similarities between his area of expertise and others at Monash.

“The most interesting problems in biology lie on the border between molecular biology, and maths and physics. Biology is becoming more and more about interpreting large, complex data sets. The fields of applied maths and physics have significant experience of this, and we can only benefit.”

It’s an exciting, innovative collaboration that bodes well for the future as well as already yielding results for our work at Imaging CoE.

If you would like to view Hans’ presentation in full, please click here.