Mathematical Institute Bulletin

Microsoft is making sign-in more secure by phasing out text and phone call authentication for multi-factor authentication (MFA). These methods are easier for attackers to compromise. Instead, users will be required to switch to stronger authentication methods such as a passkey, using the Microsoft Authenticator mobile app, or other more secure options.

Apparently there are about 7,000 people in the university whose only MFA methods are the ones that will be withdrawn. Are you one of the 7,000?

Find out more

Image: O. Louis Guglielmi - Subway Exit

Graham Farmelo's authorised biography of Stephen Hawking has just been published. The title of this Oxford Mathematics Roger Penrose Public Lecture 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.

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.

Thursday 15 October, 5 p.m., Mathematical Institute. 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.  The Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures are generously supported by XTX Markets.

Among his many interests, Kurt Gödel wrote a privately circulated formal proof for the existence of God using modal logic. But it was an earlier work from 1931 that upended mathematics and logic and which still applies today.

Here's Tibo to explain.

Is there any game that doesn't arouse the curiosity of a mathematician, however apparently simple? Here's Marcus du Sautoy.

Women in Tech Week (12-16 October 2026) celebrates the women shaping technology across the University. Whether you work directly in technology, use digital tools as part of your role, or are simply curious about where technology could take you, there’s an opportunity to connect, learn and be inspired.

There are plenty of talks which you can find on the OxIntranet but this one stands out: Women in Tech Week: Celebrating the Women Shaping Technology Across the University (in person), Thursday, 15 October, 11:00 – 12:30.

Image: Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (Nobel Prize 1964)

Marshall Wace is a leading global alternatives investment manager.  On 12^th of October, their event will give you an overview of Marshall Wace and what a career in Quant Research and Implementation could look like for you. This event is ideal for those completing a Master's, PhD, or Post-doc in a STEM discipline.

L4 from 5:45 p.m., with a drinks reception from 7:15pm to 8:30pm. Registration

Image: Henry Butler - Harmony (Print)

STEM for Britain is a major scientific poster competition and exhibition which has been held in Parliament since 1997 and is organised by the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. Its aim is to give members of both Houses of Parliament an insight into the outstanding research work being undertaken in UK universities by early-career researchers. 

Applications are invited in five subject categories; Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Physics, Engineering, Mathematical Sciences and Chemistry. Finalists will be invited to an event in the Houses of Parliament where they will present their poster to Parliamentarians and the subject judges. The finals of the competition will be held in the Houses of Parliament on 16 March 2027.

Deadline: 27 November 2026. Find out more

To welcome in the new academic year there is a 10% discount on all our merchandise. Take your pick from fleeces, hoodies, sweaters, t-shirts, pens, mugs and more more more.

Neal Street Rewards - The first lunch of term is on us from 5 October – 30 November. Download the Neal Street Rewards app, sign up and enjoy your first lunch free.

Autumn Main Meal Refresh - Available Monday to Friday, 12 - 2 p.m. Enjoy warming seasonal favourites including sausage & mash in Yorkshire pudding, premium pies, katsu style burgers and more.

Autumn drinks special - Enjoy the autumn season with Banoffee Latte and Autumn Cooler. Available for a limited time only.

PS: following a routine visit from the council enforcement officer, the cafe was awarded 5 stars for Heath and Safety at work. 

At the same time as Kurt Gödel was publishing his completeness theorem (1929) and working on incompleteness (see Short 1 above), Louis Armstrong was working tirelessly in Chicago, refining his trumpet playing and his scat style singing and producing some of the most influential records in early jazz. This is a Fats Waller-Andy Razaf song from the Broadway revue, 'Connie’s Hot Chocolates.'

'Like Jack Horner/In the corner/Don't go nowhere'. 

Previous Songs of the Week