What does the French revolution, a deadly duel and squaring a circle have to do with the birth of modern algebra? SMRI’s public lecture on 14 March was part of celebrations for the 2023 International Day of Mathematics, aka Pi Day 3.14.
“Duels and Duality: A fable about the life & mathematics of Évariste Galois” was presented by mathematician Oded Yacobi of the University of Sydney.
Esteemed algebraic number theorist Professor Frank Calegari gave a public talk on the secrets of Pi, presented by SMRI as part of his 2022 Mahler Lecture Tour .
In this talk, Frank explored a conjecture (formalized by Grothendieck) which explains how seemingly different occurrences of Pi (as well as many other interesting mathematical constants) should all be related, and how these numbers are linked to some the biggest open problems in algebra and number theory.
SMRI Director Professor of Mathematics Geordie Williamson explored how machine learning can help with the intuitive aspects of mathematical research. Geordie carried out one of the first applications of AI in pure mathematics, in collaboration with Oxford University mathematicians and DeepMind, the AI company of AlphaGo fame. The results were published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature in December 2021.
This public event took place on 15 March 2022, co-presented with Sydney Ideas.
Since prehistoric times, humans have used knots for their functional and aesthetic value. Knots, links and braids have held decorative, artistic and spiritual significance across a myriad of cultures. For mathematicians, the study of knots has led to insights in disciplines such as geometry and topology.
Professor Purcell’s research explores some of the surprising applications of knot theory.
SMRI Director, Geordie Williamson gave a talk in this ongoing seminar series which showcases excellence in research and development which is generating economic, environmental, social and technological benefits for New South Wales. The six-part series featured some of the State’s best and brightest, and highlighted its tremendous research strength across a diverse range of disciplines. […]
Cancer is a complex disease which continues to cause the premature deaths of many people. Research by clinicians and experimental biologists has dramatically improved outcomes for many patients, but further improvements are needed. in this talk, Professor Helen Byrne showed how mathematical modelling is being used to understand how tumours grow and to predict how […]
‘An intriguing journey in maths’ with Dr June HuhDr June Huh is a Clay Research Fellow and a member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, USA. He applies tropical geometry and singularity theory to problems in combinatorics and other areas. He is best known in the field of mathematics for his proof of […]
An engaging event in which brilliant scientists told stories of their cutting-edge work. Real science told by real scientists with no notes, no slides – just great stories. It’s all part of Ockham’s Razor – the ABC podcast for anyone with a compelling story of science. This was a jam-packed evening of short talks to […]
Why do guitars, flutes and voices sound different? How do we hear the different notes in a piece of music? Why does the sound of a whistle feel simpler than that of a violin? Most importantly, what does all of this have to do with the cover of Pink Floyd’s “The dark side of the […]
