Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures | Mathematical Institute

Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures enable anyone with an interest in the subject to see the best mathematicians in action and to share their pleasure (and occasional pain). They are aimed at the General Public, schools and anyone who just wants to come along and hear a bit more about what maths is really about. For booking please email external-relations@maths.ox.ac.uk.

If you can't be here in person you can always view online. All our lectures are now broadcast live on our Facebook page and live streaming service (check each lecture for the address) and most are also subsequently available via our YouTube page.

The Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures are generously supported by XTX Markets.

Jump down to Public Lectures and interviews online.

You can view and download posters from previous events.

Past events in this series

30 January 2020

17:00

Oxford Mathematics Public Lecture: Henry Segerman - Artistic Mathematics: truth and beauty

Henry Segerman

Oklahoma State University

Further Information:

This lecture is about mathematical visualization: how to make accurate, effective, and beautiful pictures, models, and experiences of mathematical concepts. What is it that makes a visualization compelling?

Henry will show examples in the medium of 3D printing, as well as his work in virtual reality and spherical video. He will also discuss his experiences in teaching a project-based class on 3D printing for mathematics students.

Henry Segerman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Oklahoma State University.

Please email external-relations@maths.ox.ac.uk to register.

Watch live:
https://www.facebook.com/OxfordMathematics/
https://livestream.com/oxuni/Segerman

The Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures are generously supported by XTX Markets.

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13 February 2020

17:00

Oxford Mathematics Public Lecture: Ian Griffiths - Cheerios, iPhones and Dysons: going backwards in time with fluid mechanics

Ian Griffiths

University of Oxford

Further Information:

How do you make a star-shaped Cheerio? How do they make the glass on your smartphone screen so flat? And how can you make a vacuum filter that removes the most dust before it blocks? All of these are very different challenges that fall under the umbrella of industrial mathematics. While each of these questions might seem very different, they all have a common theme: we know the final properties of the product we want to make and need to come up with a way of manufacturing this. In this talk we show how we can use mathematics to start with the final desired product and trace the fluid dynamics problem ‘back in time’ to enable us to manufacture products that would otherwise be impossible to produce.

Ian Griffiths is a Professor of Industrial Mathematics and a Royal Society University Research Fellow in the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford.

Please email external-relations@maths.ox.ac.uk to register.

Watch live:
https://www.facebook.com/OxfordMathematics/
https://livestream.com/oxuni/Griffiths

The Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures are generously supported by XTX Markets.

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11 March 2020

17:30

Oxford Mathematics Public Lecture. Alan Champneys: Why pedestrian bridges wobble - synchronisation and the wisdom of the crowd

Alan Champneys

University of Bristol

Further Information:

There is a beautiful mathematical theory of how independent agents tend to synchronise their behaviour when weakly coupled. Examples include how audiences spontaneously rhythmically applause and how nearby pendulum clocks tend to move in sync. Another famous example is that of the London Millennium Bridge. On the day it opened, the bridge underwent unwanted lateral vibrations that are widely believed to be due to pedestrians synchronising their footsteps.

In this talk Alan will explain how this theory is in fact naive and there is a simpler mathematical theory that is more consistent with the facts and which explains how other bridges have behaved including Bristol's Clifton Suspension Bridge. He will also reflect on the nature of mathematical modelling and the interplay between mathematics, engineering and the real world.

Alan Champneys is a Professor of Applied Non-linear Mathematics at the University of Bristol.

Please email external-relations@maths.ox.ac.uk to register.

Watch live:
https://www.facebook.com/OxfordMathematics/
https://livestream.com/oxuni/Champneys (available soon)

The Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures are generously supported by XTX Markets.