Jenny Power
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PhD Student, Statistical Applied Maths
Bath, UK
Shannon, Clare, Ireland
jip30@bath.ac.uk
Python: Proficient
Matlab: Proficient
HTML CSS: Beginner
My thesis is concerned with brachytherapy; a type of radiation therapy where radioactive sources are placed directly onto the tumour to be treated. The aim of my research is to find the optimal configuration of the sources such that radiation damage on organs in the vicinity of the tumour is minimised, but the tumour still gets the required amount of radiation. This is done by developing a mathematical model which incorporates both the physical equations governing the system, and also real-life patient data. Main mathematical areas include: partial differential equations, inverse problems, numerical optimisation, finite element method, data assimilation.
Courses Taken:
Participated in two Integrative Think Tanks, and was involved in the following projects:
Units taken:
Participated in two Integrative Think Tanks, and was involved in the following projects:
I also conducted a two semester group interdisceplenary research project on "Efficient Bilevel Optimization for Imaging". My portion of the project was on Recycling Krylov Methods.
My summer dissertation was on "Tumour and Treatment Modelling" which served as prelimenary work for my PhD research.
The aim of this project was to develop the mathematical theory of geometrical optics, to show how this theory breaks down when caustics are formed and then to repair the theory to allow for the formation of caustics. This project delved into various topics such as distribution theory, progressing wave expansion, canonical transformations, partial differential equations, and in particular solving a first order non-linear partial differential equation using the method of characteristics.
I am currently a unit tutor for first year undergraduate students. In this position, I have been a tutor for three first year maths units: " Multivariable Calculus and Differential Equations", "Vectors, Vector Calculus and Mechanics", and "Programming for Data Science". Some of my responsibilities include:
I tutor high school students in Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Physics who are preparing for their examinations. Some of my responsibilities include:
In this position I created math solution videos, where I worked through the solutions to the Irish state examination papers. These videos are targeted at high school students and are uploaded to Youtube and the Studyclix website. Some of my responsibilities include:
I was a physics peer mentor for the module “Light/ Waves/ Modern Physics”. This was organised by the University of Limerick to provide tutorial support to first year students. Some of my responsibilities included:
As part of my undergraduate degree programme, I completed a work placement as a research intern in Holst Centre, TNO and worked as part of the Laser Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) team. This is a non-contact printing technique for printing circuitry. This job involved a lot of experimental research and I worked primarily in a Class 4 Laser Lab for the entire eight months of my placement. Some of my responsibilities included:
I was awarded the opportunity to conduct a research project at the University of Limerick under a Science and Engineering Bursary. The project was titled “Geometrical Optics with an Application to Ultrasound Imaging”. The objective of this project was to learn how to approximately model ultrasound waves, using a combination of partial differential equations, geometry and asymptotic analysis and to show how scattered ultrasound waves may be used to detect tumours in human tissue. I also created a basic simulation and imaging algorithm based on this theory using MATLAB. Some of my responsibilities included:
I was the president of the Bath SIAM-IMA Student Chapter (website). In this role I co-organised the following events:
I was part of the organising committee for the 6th Annual SAMBa Conference (website), held at the University of Bath on July 5th and 6th (website). This is the annual conference for the SAMBa (Statistical Applied Mathematics at Bath) CDT, which is organised by a group of second year SAMBa students each year. This was an invaluable experience which I learnt a lot from. My favourite achievements from this undertaking were:
I’ve had the privilege of designing and delivering two RI maths masterclasses for year 8 students at the University of Bath. The first masterclass in March 2022 was "Maths of Music". I co-designed this masterclass with other PhD students in my department. In this session, we introduced the maths of how music is made: from soundwaves, how music is played on a guitar, and the mathematical reasoning behind why certain notes played together sound pleasing to the ear. The masterclass finished with a workshop where the children made their own 'guitars' using a box, pencils and a rubber band, and the knowledge they learned about octaves and perfect fifths. The second masterclass I designed and delivered myself and was part of the RI summer special held at Bath. This masterclass was titled “Spirographs: The maths that links art and space”. In this session, I introduced what spirographs are, how to calculate how many points a spirograph will have, and the planets make spirograph patterns when you trace their orbit relative to the Earth. The students has the opportunity to play with the spirographs and see if their patterns match the formulas given, and make their own planet orbits.
I volunteered as one of the original facilitators for the SOPHia Project (website). This is a University of Limerick initiative where undergraduate students deliver workshops to secondary school students, promoting physics as a subject, particularily to girls and underrepresented genders, in an effort to improve the gender balance in physics in the long-run. During my time with the SOPHia project I visted six different schools and spoke to classes of all ages, ranging from 5th class (age 10) to 4th year (age 16). In this role I delivered physics concepts in a very accessible way, while also conducting some demonstrations and having the students participate also. My favourite part of these workshops were when we would give the students boomwhackers and have them play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and fostered my love for outreach.
As part of my MRes degree, I was required to take part in a student-led seminar series. I volunteered to co-organise this in the second semester, which was conducted fully online. My responsibilities included, sending out meeting links, organising sessions and speakers, and delegating tasks to the rest of my cohort.
I was the class representative for 4th Year Mathematics and Physics during my final year of my Bachelor's degree. In this position I acted as a liason between my peers and the academic staff. My main duty was to communicate with our lectururs about any issues we may have as a class such as assignment deadlines. That year in particular was quite challenging as everything suddenly moved online and there was a lot of uncertainty around how we would be assessed.
I won the Silver Award in the mathematics category at STEM for Britain. STEM for Britain is a major scientific poster competition and aims to help politicians understand more about the UK's thriving science and engineering base. A link to this research poster can be found here, and a link to an article on the Bath website can be found here. You can also read about the event and the mathematics winners in Plus Magazine.
I was a runner-up in the Smith Institute's 12th Annual TakeAIM competition. This competition requires students to describe their research and its impact in under 250 words. As part of my prize, I presented my work at the Science Museum in London at the TakeAIM award ceremony to industrial partners.
I was nominated and awarded a Doctoral Recognition Award. These awards recognise students and staff who have contributed to enhancing the doctoral student experience at the University of Bath.
I was awarded a University of Bath Faculty of Science " Science Star - Above & Beyond Award " award. This award was for "an individual who consistently does an excellent job, contributing to their team and the people they support". This award recognisedmy work with the SIAM committee, my outreach blogging, and my work on the SAMBa conference.
I have won two "best poster" prizes for my research posters. I placed first in the University of Bath Doctoral College Science Faculty Showcase poster competition and also won the best poster prize at the SIAM UK and Ireland National Student Chapter Conference, which was held at the University of Edinburgh. A link to this research poster can be found here.
Awarded by the Physical Education Association of Ireland. PE Xpo is a competition targetted at secondary school students that examines the science behind sport, founded in 2015. As part of a team of five, our project set out to investigate and determine the optimum angle of projection to kick a ball in order to obtain the furthest distance. This was achieved by combining the physical components of rugby with the analytical components of applied mathematics.
