Nira Chamberlain on how mathematics can solve real-world problems
The Life Scientific
BBC
4.6 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 18 May 2021
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When does a crowd of people become unsafe? How well will Aston Villa do next season? When is it cost-effective to replace a kitchen?
The answers may seem arbitrary but, to Nira Chamberlain, they lie in mathematics. You can use maths to model virtually anything.
Dr Nira Chamberlain is President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, and Principal Mathematical Modeller for the multinational engineering company SNC-Lavalin Atkins.
He specialises in complex engineering and industrial problems, creating mathematical models to describe a particular feature or process, and then running simulations to better understand it, and predict its behaviour.
Nira is one of just a handful of esteemed mathematicians, and the first black mathematician. to be featured in ‘Who’s Who’, Britain’s book of prominent people.
Since 2018, he’s made the Black Power List, which celebrates the UK’s top 100 most influential people of African or African-Caribbean heritage, ranking higher than Stormzy and Lewis Hamilton when he was first listed. Proof, he says, that maths really is for everyone.
PRODUCER: Beth Eastwood
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself. |
| 0:03.7 | My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a Load of Sport Podcasts. |
| 0:08.4 | I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with a leading journalist, experienced |
| 0:12.2 | pundits and the biggest sport stars. |
| 0:14.3 | Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the players' |
| 0:18.5 | mouths. |
| 0:19.5 | But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is our unique access to the sport world. |
| 0:25.0 | What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to |
| 0:28.8 | dedicated sports fans across the UK. |
| 0:31.0 | So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more. |
| 0:35.2 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:40.3 | Hello, I'm Jim Muckleely and this is the Life Scientific Podcast, where I get to talk |
| 0:45.4 | to some of the extraordinary men and women who are trying to understand our world and make |
| 0:50.0 | it a better place. |
| 0:51.0 | I explore their work and their lives to find out what gets them out of bed in the morning. |
| 0:56.1 | And my guest today is the Applied Math Petition Naira Chamberlain. |
| 1:00.6 | When does a crowd of people become unsafe? |
| 1:03.5 | How well will Astervila do next season? |
| 1:06.0 | When is it cost effective to replace a kitchen? |
| 1:08.9 | The answers to these questions might seem completely unrelated, but not so, says my guest |
| 1:14.0 | today, because what connects them is maths. |
| 1:16.6 | In fact, you can use mathematics to model virtually anything. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.