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In October 2013 eminent mathematicians presented the latest thinking about some of the Millennium Problems as part of the Clay Mathematics Research Institute’s Annual Conference held here in the Andrew Wiles Building in Oxford. 

Peter Constantin (Princeton) addressed the Navier-Stokes Equations, Lance Fortnow (Georgia Institute of Technology) the P versus NP Problem, and Fernando Rodriguez Villegas (Austin) the Birch—Swinnerton–Dyer Conjecture.

Other contributions were talks by Edward Witten (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton) on the Jones Polynomial of a Knot, Richard Thomas (Imperial College) on the work of Clay Research Awardee Rahul Pandharipande and Ingrid Daubechies (Duke) on Animation, Teeth and Skeletons. This last talk formed the link between the Clay Research Conference and the Opening Conference for the Andrew Wiles Building.

As part of its 'Architecture That Shook Oxford' series Oxford Today, profiles the new Mathematical Institute, the Andrew Wiles Building. Dr William Whyte, Fellow of St John's College discusses both the building itself and what it says about the Oxford in the 21st Century.

http://www.oxfordtoday.ox.ac.uk/culture/videos-podcasts-galleries/architecture-shook-oxford-3

Congratulations to Frances Kirwan, FRS, who has been honoured in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to mathematics. Frances, who specialises in algebraic and symplectic geometry, has been a Professor in Oxford since 1996, is a former President of the London Mathematical Society and is Chair of the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust.

Watch Dr Richard Earl from Oxford Mathematics talk about prime numbers as part of the Christmas Science Lectures. Richard not only explains the intrinsic importance of prime numbers, but expands on their role in our everyday lives, notably their critical part in internet security.

Sir Roger Penrose has a long-standing interest in and connection with M C Escher, the Dutch graphic artist best known for his mathematically inspired woodcuts and lithographs. Roger talks about a relationship that dates back nearly sixty years and also explains why art has been a consistent part of both his family life and his mathematics.

Johannes Ruf will deliver the Bruti-Liberati Lecture at the Quantitative Methods in Finance 2013 Conference (17-20 December)

More information on the Conference can be found here http://www.qfrc.uts.edu.au/qmf/

Describing how he came to work in mathematical biology and his passion for the subject, Kit's interview can be heard this Thursday, 05 December, at 8pm on Radio Cardiff 98.7FM & www.radiocardiff.org and will then be available online as a podcast from pythagoras' trousers.

Dr Victor Burlakov and Professor Alain Goriely from Oxford, together with colleagues from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the University of Toronto have been working on the automated synthesis of photovoltaic-quality colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) using separate nucleation and growth stages. CQDs need to be of high quality and narrow size distribution for the next generation of efficient solar cells and optoelectronics. The researchers' work features on the cover of the latest edition of ACS Nano where they report the scalable and automated synthesis of CQDs using a flow reactor and create dots that are on par in quality and photovoltaic device performance with the best small-scale batch synthesized CQDs.

Oxford Mathematics is delighted to announce that it is to host two of the newly created Centres for Doctoral Training (CDT) announced today by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Oxford Centre for Doctoral Training in Industrially Focused Mathematical Modelling

Oxford University’s Mathematical Institute has a long tradition of mathematical modelling and scientific computing. The CDT in Industrially Focused Mathematical Modelling, directed by Professor Colin Please and Dr Chris Breward, will train the next generation of applied mathematicians to fill critical roles in industry and academia. The students will become adaptable problem-solvers armed with a breadth of cutting-edge mathematical techniques and outstanding communication skills.

The Centre currently has 35 partner companies, spanning SMEs to multinationals, who are actively involved in designing, delivering and supporting the Centre’s training and research. After a first year of intensive training, the students will pursue a research project aligned with a company so that all aspects of CDT research have immediate impact. We have 11 fully funded studentships to award for a 2014 start. Four of these have no nationality restrictions and we welcome applicants from across the globe.

Oxford Centre for Doctoral Training in Partial Differential Equations

Partial differential equations (PDEs) are at the heart of many scientific advances. The behaviour of every material object in nature, with time scales ranging from picoseconds to millennia and length scales ranging from sub-atomic to astronomical, can be modelled by deterministic and stochastic PDEs or by equations with similar features. The role of PDEs within mathematics and in other sciences is thus fundamental and is becoming increasingly significant.  

This CDT's comprehensive research programme will enable students to learn theory, analysis and applications in a variety of fields in a coherent manner, with a natural progression, by-passing a traditionally separate 'pure' or 'applied' approach to learning.

The CDT, directed by Professor Gui-Qiang Chen (Director) and Professors Sir John Ball and Endre Süli (Co-Directors), will offer a 4-year D.Phil. programme with the central aim of producing highly trained, outstanding mathematicians with deep expertise and interdisciplinary skills in the analysis and applications of PDEs and related areas of core mathematics and its interfaces, who will help drive scientific advances over the next fifty years. 

We seek mathematics graduates with a first class degree or other evidence of outstanding potential. We also encourage highly motivated and mathematically capable students with a degree in the physical sciences and engineering to apply.  We have 10 fully funded studentships to award for a 2014 start; at least two of them have no nationality restriction.

Congratulations to Dr Chris Breward who has won his award for promotion of the 'impact, engagement and exploitation agenda.' Chris has driven forward individual contacts with industry, notably Oxford Mathematics' relationship with BP as well as materially encouraging a wider culture of engagement. Chris also led, together with Professor Colin Please, our successful bid for the funding of a Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Industrially Focused Mathematical Modelling which will train the next generation of applied mathematicians to fill critical roles in industry and academia.