DR. NIRA CHAMBERLIN
Dr Nira Chamberlain is a British mathematician based in Birmingham, UK. He is a Principal Consultant at SNC-Lavalin and from 2020 the President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.
Dr. Chamberlain has always enjoyed mathematics during his primary adolescence and, despite a lack of encouragement from his teachers, studied a BSc in Mathematics at Coventry Polytechnic, graduating in 1991. He then moved to Loughborough University, where he achieved an MSc in Industrial Mathematical Modelling in 1993. In 2014, he completed a PhD at Portsmouth University, under the supervision of Professor Andrew Osbaldestin entitled "Extension of the gambler's ruin problem played over networks".
Chamberlain has worked all over the world, he created a mathematical cost capability trade-off for HMS Queen Elizabeth, modelling the lifetime running costs of aircraft carriers versus operating budgets. This use of mathematics in the real world was cited in the Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Society.
In 2012, Chamberlain was involved with the UK STEM Project. In 2014 he was named by the Science Council as one of the UK's top scientists. Only five mathematicians were selected for this accolade.
“YOU DON’T NEED ANYBODY’S PERMISSION TO BE A GREAT MATHEMATICIAN”
Being the first is not something to be proud about, it is a calling to ensure you are not the last.
The PT Show has the pleasure of sitting down for a Spotlight Conversation with one of Britain's most cherished Mathematicians. Our listeners will be delightfully transported on a journey of passion about a STEM subject most fear to get a grip of.
Dr Nira Chamberlain's jovial enthusiasm about Mathematics through his life journey is remarkable to state the least. And in Jamaican patois terms Dr Chamberlain is "Tallawah". It means to be: Very strong-willed, fearless and not to be underestimated or taken lightly.
Britain has a lot to thank super intelligent genius for. His mathematical equations and writings are the reason why Britain's largest floating aircraft carrier is afloat safe and well.
"I can remember from an early age being told by my father to use science and reasoning to find answers to problems, rather than guess"
You may not have heard about many famous black mathematicians from history. This is because until relatively recently it wasn’t easy for anyone who is black to go to university or have a career in science or mathematics.
Mathscareers.Org.uk highlights five of the black heroes of mathematics history – some of whom are still living and working today.
Professor Kathleen Adebola Okikiolu is mentioned by Dr Nira Chamberlain as one of 5 people on the planet as the most famous figures in Mathematics.
Professor Okikiolu was the first black person to receive a Sloan Research Fellowship in 1997.
British-born and making history in STEM and for Women.