How mimicking evolution can tackle a range of challenges
Co-ordinator of the SAGE project, Dr Per Kristian Lehre from the University of Nottingham.
A new research project aims to improve our understanding of evolution and the ways in which we can mimic it to tackle a range of 21st century challenges.
Scientists from the universities of Nottingham and Sheffield will collaborate with overseas researchers from the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena and IST Austria.
A grant of €2million has been awarded by the European Union for the project, which is titled Speed of adaptation in population genetics and evolutionary computation (SAGE).
The study will bring together two research fields that study evolution – known as population genetics and evolutionary computation.
Evolutionary computation mimics the process of biological evolution – creating artificial evolution to provide solutions to design problems. This is applied in numerous industries, including pharmaceuticals, logistics and the automotive industry.
Some forms of evolution are more efficient than others, however, and when it comes to solving complex, large-scale design problems in a short space of time, this efficiency is crucial.
Both population genetics and evolutionary computation have independently studied the speed of adaptation, using different methods and approaches.
For the new project, researchers will bring the fields together to improve understanding of the speed of adaptation in evolutionary processes, and to develop more efficient forms of artificial evolution.
The project will be co-ordinated by Dr Per Kristian Lehre from the University of Nottingham's School of Computer Science. He said: “We envisage that this theory will deepen our understanding of evolution.
“By bringing together these two research fields, and creating one unified theory, scientists will be able to make long-term predictions about the efficiency of evolution in settings that are highly relevant for both fields and related sciences.”
For further information on SAGE, visit http://www.project-sage.eu
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