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AIRBODS Researchers Participate in Newton Gateway to Mathematics Event

AIRBODS Researchers Participate in Newton Gateway to Mathematics Event

Author: Murat Mustafa, UCL.

The Newton Gateway to Mathematics organised a three-day V-KEMS virtual study group bringing experts from different backgrounds to solve the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic faced by the leisure and hospitality sector. The “problem owners” included Cambridge Sports Centre, Shakespeare Globe, Independent Cinema Office (IOF), Royal Opera House and UK Hospitality.

The problem owners identified three major challenges before the event. One of these challenges was the correct operation of ventilation systems during the pandemic to mitigate airborne disease transmission risks.

Due to the expertise and recent experience of the Airborne Infection Reduction through Building Operation and Design for SARS-CoV-2 (AIRBODS) group working on event research programme (ERP), Newton Gateway to Mathematics invited a group of researchers from the project to work on the ventilation related problems. Therefore, on 12th, 13th and 14th October 2021, a group of researchers from the project, including Dr Murat Mustafa, Dr Filipa Adzic, Dr Ben Roberts, Dr Paul Cropper, Oliver Wilde and Elpida Vangeloglou, got together, aiming to provide solutions for the problem owners. 

The group had pre-event meetings with some of the problem owners and attended presentations when the problem owners presented their problems to the wider workshop participants. As a result of these meetings, the group identified two major questions common to most problem owners. These two questions were “How do we know if our ventilation is adequate or in line with government recommendations?” and “What should we do if it is not?” 

The ventilation study group focused on providing possible answers to these two questions during the three-day workshop event. At the end of the event, the group was successfully provided with a report and presentation addressing these two questions of the businesses based on the previous ERP field studies, unpublished research and the current literature. Even though it was not possible to provide all the answers to every problem in such a short amount of time, the businesses were clear about what to do next as they were directed to the right path to monitor the performance of their ventilation systems and intervene (if necessary) in the operation of their ventilation systems following the suggested guidelines. 

A copy of the report can be found here.

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