Please note that the list below only shows forthcoming events, which may not include regular events that have not yet been entered for the forthcoming term. Please see the past events page for a list of all seminar series that the department has on offer.

 

Past events in this series


Thu, 15 Oct 2026
14:00
Lecture Room 1

Is the End in Sight for Theoretical Physics? - Graham Farmelo

Graham Farmelo
Further Information

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.

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Wed, 28 Oct 2026
17:00
Lecture Theatre 1

On the Origins of Riemann’s Hypothesis - David E Rowe

David E Rowe
(University of Mainz)
Further Information

Much has been written about the Riemann hypothesis, which many consider to be the most important unsolved problem in mathematics today. It concerns the zeros of the Riemann zeta function, which Riemann introduced in his famous 8-page paper from 1859. This talk aims to explain the motivation behind his paper, which only incidentally mentioned the Riemann hypothesis. This story has many sequels. 

David E. Rowe is Professor Emeritus for History of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz.

Please email @email to register to attend in person.

The lecture will be broadcast on the Oxford Mathematics YouTube Channel on Wednesday 18 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.

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