14:00
Is the End in Sight for Theoretical Physics? - Graham Farmelo
Graham Farmelo's authorised biography of Stephen Hawking will be published in late September. The title of this talk is the same as the one that Hawking chose for his Lucasian Inaugural Lecture in April 1980. Graham will look at the genesis of his presentation, the splash it made and how views on the subject changed in later decades. With the benefit of these reflections, he will hazard a present-day answer to Hawking’s provocative question.
Graham Farmelo is a biographer and science writer. He has written an acclaimed biography of Paul Dirac as well as his biography of Stephen Hawking.
Please email @email to register to attend in person.
The lecture will be broadcast on the Oxford Mathematics YouTube Channel on Thursday 5 November at 5-6 pm and any time after (no need to register for the online version).
The Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures are generously supported by XTX Markets.
Plants, Metastability & Robots
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From Physics to Factory: Using Mathematical Modelling to Accelerate Battery Manufacturing
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Abstract
The rapid growth of the battery industry has created an urgent need for faster process development, reduced experimental burden, and improved manufacturing efficiency. Mathematical modelling provides a powerful framework for understanding and optimising processes across the battery manufacturing chain.
This talk will explore how modelling can support battery manufacturing across a range of levels of complexity, from high-fidelity multiphysics simulations to reduced-order models, numerical solutions of governing transport equations, and simpler analytical tools used directly by engineers. Using examples from electrode manufacture, it will demonstrate how different approaches can be applied according to the question being addressed, balancing accuracy, computational effort and practical utility. The talk will show how these complementary techniques can be used to gain process insight, guide experimentation, explore large design spaces and support decisions from early-stage development through to industrial scale-up.
Drawing on examples from industrial practice, the talk will illustrate how modelling can shorten development timelines, reduce reliance on costly experimental programmes, and enable more effective scale-up of battery manufacturing processes. It concludes with a discussion of emerging opportunities for applied mathematics in next-generation battery production and digital manufacturing.