Talk about your thesis

The DPhil speaking event ‘Talk about your thesis’ will take place on the 20 March from 12 to 2 pm at the RSL. 

The event will feature 7 talks from DPhil students about their project, followed by a free pizza lunch.

Mon, 01 Jun 2026
16:30
L4

TBA

Nicos Kapouleas
(Brown University)
Abstract

TBA

Banner for event

Computers, Geometry and Einstein

Computers have long been useful for studying mathematical problems. But recently computer techniques have been used to prove new theorems in geometry, specifically related to the study of gravity through Einstein's theory of General Relativity. This Oxford Mathematics Public Lecture will describe these developments and what they might mean for the future.

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Topological Data Analysis (up to 2 posts)

We invite applications for up to two Postdoctoral Research Associates to work with Professors Ulrike Tillmann, Vidit Nanda and Heather Harrington on an exciting project in applied topology for data science with links to geometry and systems biology. These are full-time, fixed-term positions for 24 months funded by a Centre-to-Centre research grant from the EPSRC. The start-date for these positions are flexible, but September – October 2026 is preferred.

Fri, 06 Mar 2026
13:15
L6

Geometric and topological potentials driving self-assembly

Ivan Spirandelli
(University of Potsdam)
Abstract
The assembly of molecular building blocks into functional complexes is a central theme in biology and materials science. In this talk, we showcase the generative and thermodynamically predictive capabilities of a geometric model, the morphometric approach to solvation free energy, applied to spherical particles, tubes, and protein subunits. We demonstrate that this purely geometric description is sufficient to generate biologically relevant structural motifs and identify native nucleation states in simulation.
 
However, relying solely on local geometric fit often leads to optimization challenges. Molecular simulations frequently become trapped in local minima because the model lacks global structural information. To address this, we introduce a global bias based on persistent homology. By incorporating a weighted sum of total persistence as an active potential, we obtain an efficient simulation strategy, significantly increasing success rates. Integrating topological descriptions into energy functions offers a general strategy for overcoming kinetic barriers in molecular simulations, with potential applications in drug design, material development, and the study of complex self-assembly processes.

Play cricket?

Oxford University Club Cricket Club (OUCCC) is a friendly and inclusive cricket club for Oxford University staff, graduate students, and alumni, and we’d love to welcome new players this season. We play relaxed 40-over fixtures almost every Sunday from April to September, take a break in July for our popular mini T20 World Cup, and run weekly outdoor nets from February onwards (weather permitting). Players of all abilities are very welcome.

Calving laws and where to find them
 Benn, D Wheel, I Åström, J Christoffersen, P Cook, S Luckman, A Nick, F Hulton, N Hewitt, I Bassis, J Journal of Glaciology (01 Jan 2026)
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