Congratulations to Oxford Mathematics and Worcester College undergraduate Ellen who was a joint winner of the British Society for the History of Mathematics Undergraduate Essay Prize for her essay 'The "analysis" of a century: Influences on the etymological development of the word "analysis" in a mathematical context to 1750'.
Ellen says of her work: "I took the History of Maths module as I have always enjoyed hearing about how people and societies have thought about the concepts that we take for granted. I found that learning and exploring the original mathematical texts helped me to contextualise my place as an undergraduate in the overall mathematical story!
"My essay, which was adapted from the essay I submitted for my final coursework, explores the evolving meaning of the word ‘analysis’ in a mathematical context from Oughtred to Euler. It delves into themes including the geometric-analytic distinction and how the nature of mathematical texts, as well as their contents, has helped mathematical ideas to stick."
Ellen completed her degree this summer. Below, you can watch a lecture from the History of Mathematics course she took, one of the many undergraduate lectures we are making available to give an insight in to mathematical life in Oxford.