RESEARCH UNIT FOR BUSINESS MATHEMATICS AND INFORMATICS
 

OVERVIEW    The Research Unit for Business Mathematics and Informatics focuses on applied research in the broad areas of financial risk management and telecommunications applications modelling and basic research in the mathematical, economical and computational sciences. The applied research is done in close collaboration with partners from the two sectors. Prof. Jan Fourie Director of Research

CONTACT THE UNIT Ms. Christelle Klaassen +27 (18) 299 2575 christelle.klaassen@nwu.ac.za

Description  

The research unit supports the:

• Centre for Business Mathematics and Informatics;

• Telkom Centre of Excellence in Telecommunications Applications Modelling ;

in applied research and the:

• School for Computer Statistical and Mathematical Sciences;

• School vor Economics, Risk Management and International Trade;

in postgraduate research and training.
 

Core Competence and Research Expertise

• Basic research in Mathematics: functional analysis (summing multipliers and tensor norms), operator theory (operators defined by probabilistic conditional expectation operators, integral operators with semi-separable kernels), control theory (structured noncommutative multidimensional linear systems) and linear algebra (positive real and real expansive matrices in indefinite inner product spaces and invariant maximal semidefinite subspaces).

• Basic research in Statistics: non-parametric analysis (curve estimation), bootstrap resampling methods (the m out of n methodology, categorical data analysis), survival analysis, time series analysis, probability theory, goodness of fit tests, non-parametric methods applied to risk analysis.

• Basic Research in Applied Mathematics:  Financial Economy (Banking, Penson funds, Insurance), Health Economy (Nutrition and Economic Growth).

• Basic research in Computer Science and Operations research: data mining, image processing, mathematical programming (decision support systems, computer vision, systems and algorithms, super parallel computing, systems development methodologies, algorithm development for material cuts using artificial intelligence, robust linear regression methods, optimal route planning, tree knapsack solutions for local access networds).

• Bank Risk Management: financial risk management, securitisation in SA, Efficiency in bank lending and borrowing, performance evaluation of financial institutions, risk management in agricultural companies and co-operatives.

• Risk Analysis: modelling of financial time series (applied to Satrix40), portfolio construction and analysis (applied to Satrix40 in a risk/return framework, statistical research into aspects of modern portfolio theory), pricing of financial derevatives, enterprise wide risk management (Bayesian inference in risk management), regression and depth quantiles with financial applications, data mining and risk analysis.

• Foundations and Ethics: The process of conceptualising mathematics and its relation to reality, teaching mathematics from a Christian perspective, Ethics, culture and information technology: a comparative study.
   

Post Graduate Programmes

Two types of Masters programmes are offered:

• M Sc in Business Mathematics in Informatics: this is a structured course offered over two years in one of three areas of specialisation, namely Financial Mathematics, Quatitative Risk Management and Data Mining.

• Reseach based M Sc or M Com: students register for the degree in any one of the basic research directions available in the programme and do the basic research for these degrees within the programmes of the Unit.

• Research based Ph D: students register for the   Ph D-degree in any one of the basic directions in which research is done in the Unit and their research is done within such a programme of the Unit.