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The San Francisco Chronicle recently published an article about Marcus du Sautoy to conicide with his talk at Berkeley.

The first Brooke Benjamin Lecture in Fluid Dynamics will be given by Jerry Bona (University of Illinois, Chicago). The lecture will be at 5pm on Thursday 17 May, in L1 of the Mathematical Institute.

All are warmly invited to attend the lecture and reception that follows.

Further information available.

EPSRC has recently invested significant resources in nonlinear PDEs in the UK by making two Science and Innovation awards in this area. These, to be held in the University of Oxford and in the Maxwell Institute, Edinburgh (comprising the mathematics departments of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt universities), are designed to enhance the position of nonlinear PDEs throughout the UK. In addition to new posts in the three institutions, there will be a large programme of activities to benefit the entire UK nonlinear PDE community. Included in this programme are international conferences, workshops, instructional conferences/summer schools, activity groups/networks, and visitor programmes.

The directorships of the two centres - the Centre for Analysis and Nonlinear PDE in the Maxwell Institute and the Centre in the Analysis of Nonlinear PDEs in Oxford - are now interested in ideas, suggestions and proposals from the UK PDE community for specific activities that could be undertaken by one of the two centres, or jointly, under the aegis of these programmes. It should be noted that there will be every opportunity for activities to take place outside Oxford and Edinburgh.

At this time, the directors would like to invite views from groups and/or individuals on ways in which these two new centres can best help energize and be responsive to the UK nonlinear PDE community. Specifically they invite expressions of interest, ideas and suggestions under the following headings:

• International conferences;
• Workshops;
• Instructional conferences/summer schools;
• Activity groups/networks;
• Visitor programmes.

We are not at this stage asking for full proposals.

Contributions received by 15 May 2007 will be especially welcome. Please make such on at most two sides of A4, and send them to the directors by email (contact points below).

In order to involve and consult the UK PDE community as widely as possible, we shall be holding a UK Nonlinear PDEs Scoping Consultation Meeting open to all. This will take place on 29 May 2007 at the LMS, De Morgan House, 57-58 Russell Square, London WC1B 4HS. The ideas and suggestions received prior to this meeting will help shape it, and the more concrete proposals for activities which will follow. See the agenda of the meeting for further information.

Colleagues planning to attend the meeting should indicate their participation by email to Laura Darling (@email). For more information, please contact one of the directors below.

There will be a one-day combinatorics meeting on Wednesday, 14 March 2007.

Marcus du Sautoy will be giving one of this year's prestigious Darwin Lectures. The theme for the twenty second annual Darwin Lecture Series is IDENTITY. Other speakers include the conductor Christopher Hogwood. Marcus's lecture entitled MATHEMATICAL IDENTITY is at 5:30 pm on Friday 9th February The Lady Mitchell Hall, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge.

More details available

Marcus du Sautoy will be giving one of this year's prestigious Darwin Lectures. The theme for the twenty second annual Darwin Lecture Series is IDENTITY. Other speakers include the conductor Christopher Hogwood. Marcus's lecture entitled MATHEMATICAL IDENTITY is at 5:30 pm on Friday 9th February The Lady Mitchell Hall, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge.

More details available

There will be a one day workshop on New Perspectives in Mathematical Fluid Mechanics on Monday 22nd January.

An account of the interview with John Ball at the end of the 2006 ICM.

The Guardian have recently published an interview with Marcus du Sautoy.

In the third round of Science and Innovation Awards, announced by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Mathematical Institute will receive £3.3m to establish a world-class research centre in the analysis of non-linear partial differential equations.

Professor Sir John Ball FRS led the project to establish a research centre in the analysis of non-linear PDEs at the Mathematical Institute. The centre aims to create a vibrant and stimulating research environment and provide leadership in the areas of non-linear PDEs within the UK. The analysis of PDEs is a fundamental subject area of mathematics, which links important strands of pure mathematics to applied and computational mathematics. They provide a natural mathematical description of many phenomena in the physical, natural and social sciences, often arising from fundamental conservation laws such as for mass, momentum and energy.

The grant will pay for three new permanent posts for an initial period of five years, and provide funding for postdoctoral and research students. The University will upgrade one of the permanent posts to a Chair.

Professor Sir John Ball, from the Mathematical Institute, said: `The grant represents a wonderful opportunity to help invigorate the study of non-linear partial differential equations in the UK, a topic that is of central importance to many parts of mathematics. The theoretical and practical importance of PDEs can not be over-emphasised, and fundamental advances in their understanding have implications throughout science and technology.'