News

Two former DPhil students from the Oxford Mathematical Finance Group, Hualei Chang and Lei Jin, have joined Goldman Sachs.

The IMA Gold Medal is awarded in alternate years in recognition of outstanding contributions to mathematics and its applications over a period of years. This year the medal has been awarded to Nick Trefethen. The medal will be presented on 29 June 2011.

A recent interview with Thomas Woolley on how the stingray got its spots has appeared on the Oxford Science Blog. In the interview they discuss a recently published paper by Thomas Woolley, Ruth Baker and Philip Maini.

Radek Erban has been awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize for his work on Applied Mathematics.

These Prizes, with a value of £70,000 each, are awarded to outstanding scholars who have made a substantial and recognised contribution to their particular field of study, recognised at an international level, and where the expectation is that their greatest achievement is yet to come.

The Prizes commemorate the contribution to the work of the Trust made by Philip Leverhulme, the Third Viscount Leverhulme and grandson of the Founder.

David Acheson will give a public lecture, Mathematics, Magic and the Electric Guitar, at 7.30pm on Thursday 18 November at Science Oxford.

The event is in association with Oxford University Press.

Further details are available

A meeting on Open Mathematical Problems from Industry and Elsewhere is to held on Thursday December 9th 2010 to make the retirement of John Ockendon.

The idea of this one day meeting is to give participants the opportunity to air the 'problem you never solved'. This might be either a problem you have never had time to work on or one that has defeated you. There will be plenty of time for discussion and maybe a few problems will be solved during the day! (Alternatively, the meeting may provide John with a source of problems to work on during his retirement.)

Further information and a registration form are available.

A recent article in the journal Science highlights how early-career academics can hone a wide range of non-research skills through grass roots initiatives, including the establishment of local chapters, as the Oxford University SIAM Student Chapter currently chaired by Hermes Gadêlha, and part of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). The Chapter is run by a committee of graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Oxford, with support from Mason Porter, the Faculty Advisor, and it is sponsored by industrial partners, the SIAM and the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford.

About the Chapter

The Oxford University SIAM Student Chapter is a society devoted to facilitating engagement between the University of Oxford’s international applied mathematics community and industry through conferences, workshops, competitions, prizes and other events. The Chapter was founded in January 2008, and it is now one of the largest chapters worldwide with members including undergraduates, graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, faculty and industry.

A Maths in the City Alumni Network Debate was held at the Royal Society on 22 September 2010. This unparalleled gathering of faculty, students and alumni from across the range of the financial industry gathered to address the motion that “The more effective use of Mathematics would make a major contribution to averting future financial crises.”

Further information and pictures are available.

Marcus Du Sautoy is to receives an hononary DSc from the University of Bath in December.

The Mathematical Institute has been given Supporter Status under the LMS/HoDoMs Good Practice Award Scheme.