To celebrate AMSI Summer School 2025, SMRI and the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) jointly hosted a public lecture on the 29th of January, given by University of Sydney mathematician Jordan Pitt, My Mathematical Journey: From Play to Sea! In addition to his role as a lecturer, Jordan is also Associate Dean of Indigenous Strategy & Services, and a previous attendee of the successful AMSI Summer School program!
While many of the 170-strong audience were AMSI summer school students, many attendees had no background in mathematics. It was fascinating to hear Jordan discuss his career trajectory, from realising that maths didn’t have to be dull in school, to modelling the effect of waves on sea ice (described by Jordan as the best job in the world!).
Jordan’s anecdotes of school in Australia and early mathematical education resonated with many, as he described how he realised that mathematics could be deeper and more fascinating than just worksheets and multiplication tables. Jordan was incredibly generous with his personal stories and anecdotes, and, as always, the crowd enjoyed the chance to mingle afterwards with a canapé reception. Scroll down to catch up on the recording and view the photo gallery.
Watch the recording of the SMRI public lecture:
Photo gallery
Photos by Jayne Ion.
