CSci

Chartered Scientist

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About CSci

Nira Chamberlain

CSci MIMA

I am a Chartered Scientist and a member of the Institute of Mathematics and its Application (IMA). Since 2002, I have been a Mathematical Modelling Consultant for the LSC Group, an expert analytical consultancy, in a wide range of industrial sectors including Defence, Energy, Railway industries as well as Governmental Departments.

I joined the IMA in 1997 – believing then as I do now, that mathematics is the poetry of logical ideas – as I was inspired by their scientific application of mathematical models. My application for CSci status considered my current job role, as well as my other experiences since graduation. These include, for example, a range of projects from investigating mathematically the psychological effect of the volcanic eruption on the people of the Caribbean island of Montserrat, to writing an adaptive mesh mathematical algorithm to aid the modelling of airflow through an aircraft engine. My work has taken me near and far; I have worked in the Netherlands and France, and, to this day, I still speak French fluently. Consideration of my application meant that all my experience and all my work in the field was weighed, measured and assessed to see if it was found worthy – and it was!

Being a Chartered Scientist means that I have a respected professional status. It also means that I have a responsibility to continue to ‘raise the bar’ and to ensure that I am at the cutting edge of my profession. In a few years time, my experience and my work in the field will once again be weighed, measured and assessed, to see whether I am still worthy of being a Chartered Scientist.

LSC Group actively encourages its consultants to achieve Chartered status. Its main asset is the experience and skill level of its consultants. CSci is a quality benchmark which is not only a feather in the cap of the individual, but also the company, and therefore their customers.

A scientific issue that concerns me are that there are too many good, and potentially great, scientists dropping the subject at an early opportunity. It saddens me to see the decrease of students taking science subjects at ‘A’ level and beyond. However, through role modelling, mentoring and teaching mathematics at a Saturday School, I try to – and hope that I do – make a difference.