| Scientific activities | Methodology themes |

There are six priority methodology themes for developing models to meet INRA objectives. Each of these themes calls upon several specialised fields of mathematics and informatics.

TM1 Complex dynamic systems
TM2 Methodology of risk analysis and management
TM3 Representation and exploitation of dynamic and spatialised information
TM4 Seeking structures in large amounts of data
TM5 Models for action
TM6 Algorithms and computational complexity

TM1 Complex dynamic systems

Developing methods for analysing complex dynamic models, assembled from sub-models with large numbers of parameters and building a model for simulation purposes.
Disciplines employed
- Statistics and probability: aggregation, disaggregation, mixed models, sensitivity analysis, branching processes, etc.
- Dynamic systems: detecting thresholds rupture, EDP, etc.
- Informatics: qualitative, symbolic and multi-agent models, etc.
Teams involved
- The Mathematics of Risk - MIA Jouy en Josas
- BioSP Avignon
- Systems Analysis - MISTEA Montpellier
- Modelling Large Systems - BIA Toulouse

TM2 Methodology of risk analysis and management

Analysing risks raises particular problems because it often concerns rare events, associated with a low amount of data, with uncertain states being measured and threshold effects.
Disciplines employed
- Statistics: Bayesian statistics, theory of extreme values
Team involved
- The Mathematics of Risks - MIA Jouy en Josas
- Met@risk
- Informatics Methods for Controlling Food Risks - AgroParisTech

TM3 Representation and exploitation of dynamic and spatialised information

The task here is to develop methods for characterising spatial structures or dynamic spatialised systems.
Disciplines involved
- Statistics: spatial statistics, Bayesian models, mixed models, process statistics
- Image analysis: analysing movements in 3D
Teams involved
- Mathematics for Cellular Biology - MIA Jouy en Josas
- The Mathematics of Risk - MIA Jouy en Josas
- Genome - AgroParisTech
- Mathematical Models for Biology and the Environment -AgroParisTech
- Modelling Large Systems - BIA Toulouse
- BioSP Avignon

TM4 Seeking structures in large amounts of data

The challenge is to build and interrogate databases while entering information of several different types and finally to develop methods for analysing these large amounts of data.
Disciplines involved
- Statistics: MCMC, data mining
- Informatics: client-server applications, telemanagement, conceptual graphics, data mining, knowledge representation and the extraction of knowledge from written documents.
Teams involved
- MIG
- Mathematics for Cellular Biology - MIA Jouy en Josas
- Genome - AgroParisTech
- Informatics Methods for Controlling Food Risks - AgroParisTech
- Met@risk
- Applied Statistics and Informatics in Genetics and Molecular Biology -BIA Toulouse
- Genome - MISTEA Montpellier
- Systems Analysis - MISTEA Montpellier
- Statistics and Genome Evry

TM5 Models for action

The task here is to use models to develop methods for acting on systems which have been modelled to control and manage them and make decisions.
Disciplines involved
- Artificial intelligence: Markov decision processes, multi-stakeholder models
- Automation: robust control and optimum control
Team involved
- Mathematical and Informatics Methods for Decision-Making - BIA Toulouse
- Systems Analysis -MISTEA Montpellier

TM6 Algorithms and computational complexity

Determining factors when developing algorithms are the large number of parameters and the amounts of data and constraints involved.
Disciplines employed
- Statistics: MCMC, Bayesian networks
- Informatics: Bayesian networks, constraint networks, Markov decision processes
Team involved :
- MIG
- Mathematics for Cellular Biology - MIA Jouy en Josas
- Statistics and Genome Evry
- Genome - AgroParisTech
- Applied Statistics and Informatics in Genetics and Molecular Biology - BIA Toulouse
- Mathematical and Informatics Methods for Decision-Making - BIA Toulouse
- BioSP Avignon

update 26/02/10