Trilateral Project of BEES-Groups 2016-2018

The BEES-Groups (Business, Engineering, Education Study Groups) united graduate and postgraduate students and professors from Kiev Polytechnic Institute in Ukraine (KPI), University of Koblenz-Landau in Germany (UKO) and Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University in Russia (SPbPU) at the series of workshops addressing mathematical modeling of real-world problems. The project was funded by Volkswagen Foundation. Two of the BEES-Groups Workshops were also registered as ESGI (European Study Groups with Industry). The third and the last BEES Group was held in Kiev in September 2018.

 The first BEES Group (also registered as ESGI-123) took place in St. Petersburg in October 2016. There were 22 participants from KPI, UKO and + external participants from Finland, China and South Korea (without financial support from the BEES project).

 Four projects were carried out. SPbPU has long-term expertise in cooperations with industrial partners from engineering disciplines. The projects selected for the first BEES workshop hence have a strong engineering background.

• Velocity potential of a vortex. This problem was posed by Bosch, Russia and has applications in Computational Fluid Dynamics. For this problem, the masters’ diploma thesis of Artem Eliseev, a student participant in BEES-1 form SPbPU, evolved and SPbPU is still in contact with Bosch.
• Determining the overlap of particles. This problem was also proposed by Bosch, Russia. In the simulation of particle-laden fluids, it is important to detect collisions of particles. The group developed a method to detect the collision for irregularly shaped particles.
• Collapse of cardboard boxes. This problem was posed by the company PowerFlute, a partner of both SPbPU and Lappeenranta Technical University Finland, whose representatives also participated in the Study Group. Based on experimental data, the group developed a model to determine the collapse of cardboard boxes according to the applied load and environmental conditions like humidity.
• Wing assembly of aircraft. This problem was posed by Airbus, an industrial partner of SPbPU. The task was to determine the optimal position of a given number of temporary fastening elements in the process of wing assembly.

The second BEES Group  (also registered as ESGI 134) took place in Koblenz in September 2017. It involved 32 participants + external participants without financial support from BEES project.

Four projects were carried out. UKO’s expertise lies in MSO (Modeling, Simulation and Optimization) with a certain focus on life sciences. The projects were selected from the various fields of application that are subject of research cooperation in Koblenz.

• Evacuation of a camping ground in Koblenz. The problem was posed by the City of Koblenz. The city owns a camping ground at river Rhine. In case of flooding, installations at the camping ground need to be removed. The task for the group was to design a decision support tool based on the actual and past level of river Rhine and on meteorological conditions to determine when to remove the installations.
• Optimal traffic routing at Loreley. Problem is posed by the Police Department of Koblenz. The Loreley rock located above river Rhine is a popular location for festivals and events. One bottleneck of this location is the poor road connections. Shuttle buses, private cars and -in case of emergency- rescue forces need to use two single roads leading from the valley up to the rock. The police department is interested in an optimal scheme for routing the buses and the individual traffic to minimize the departure time for all participants and to ensure a hopefully constantly flowing traffic.
• Epidemiological modeling. The problem posed by University Koblenz together with research partners in Indonesia. Based on data for hospitalization cases of dengue fever, the task for the group was to determine the influence of meteorological factors on the spread of the diseases.
• Prediction of nausea in medical tests. The problem posed by the General Hospital of the Germany Army, Koblenz. Pilots are regularly tested for the sensitivity to nausea in different conditions. Based on ECG (electrocardiogram) data for various test subjects, the task was to detect nausea before it actually occurred.

Remarks by Mariia Skrypchenko (Student of KPI) on her experience during the BEES-workshop in Koblenz:

“During this workshop, all the groups showed excellent solutions of the given problems, proposed new ideas and approaches. Such a remarkable experience is useful for all the participants of the workshop whether it is a master degree student or PhD.

Firstly, for students it is a great possibility to be involved in industrial research, to apply mathematical knowledge in real-life tasks. Moreover, final solutions during this workshop show the real power of applied mathematics and inspire younger generation to continue their studying as a PhD and to be involved in science. Secondly, for senior researches it is an awesome exchange of ideas, experience and new approaches between colleagues from different universities.

In conclusion, experience of being involved in scientific activity always helps to grow to be a perfect specialist and researcher. A more important achievement is the ability to apply knowledge in practice and in real tasks. That is why such workshops as BEE’S-GROUPS are very significant and should be held on an ongoing basis to grow promising professionals – the future of our countries.”

 The third BEES Group took place in Kiev in September 2018. It involved 20 participants.

View of Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square at sunset. Kiev, Ukraine

Three projects were carried out. KPI has expertise and long-term cooperations in the field of data science. Hence the three projects selected for the third BEES-Group are originated from this field of applications.

• Detection of stenosis. The group was given data on the diameter of carotid and vertebral arteries leading to the brain for healthy patients and patients suffering from stenosis, a clogging of the arteries, that can lead to stroke. Their task was to detect the status of the patient (healthy or ill) just based on these data.
• EEG-data and muscle movement. The group was given EEG (electroencephalogram) data for tests, where persons had to grasp and lift an object. Besides the EEG signal certain events, like contact of finger with the object, lift-off of the object or release were recorded. The task was to predict just on the recorded EEG signal, when the events occur.
• Automatic classification of mutations leading to cancer. The group was given data from various cell mutations and the classification of a human expert, whether this mutation leads to cancer or not. The task for the group was to develop a mathematical model or algorithm to predict the probability of cancer without involving a human expert.

Remark by Prof. Sergey Lupuleac on his impression of the impact of the BEES-project:

“The BEES-project with its trinational workshops helped to greatly improve the relationship between the partners, especially between KPI and SPbPU. Now we can discuss scientific issues and research. We have obtained many new friends in KPI and found several topics of common interest. We hope to continue our collaboration with Ukrainian colleagues. I also consider it as our small contribution to recovery of normal relations between neighbors.