Oxford Mathematician Nick Trefethen was recently awarded the George Pólya Prize for Mathematical Exposition by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) "for the exceptionally well-expressed accumulated insights found in his books, papers, essays, and talks." Here Nick&n
As part of our series of research articles deliberately focusing on the rigour and intricacies of mathematics and its problems, Oxford Mathematician Nikolay Nikolov discusses his research in to Sofic Groups.
As part of our series of research articles deliberately focusing on the rigour and intricacies of mathematics, we look at Oxford Mathematician Minyhong Kim's research in to the relationship between number theory and topology. Minhyong Kim is Professor of Number Theory here in Oxford and Fellow of Merton College.
It is probably well-known that number theory is the source of some of the oldest and most accessible questions in mathematics:
Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) is celebrated as “the first programmer” for her remarkable 1843 paper which explained Charles Babbage’s designs for a mechanical computer. New research reinforces the view that she was a gifted, perceptive and knowledgeable mathematician.
Governments around the world are seeking to address the economic and humanitarian consequences of climate change. One of the most graphic indications of warming temperatures is the melting of the large ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica. This is a litmus test for climate change, since ice loss may contribute more than a metre to sea-level rise over the next century, and the fresh water that is dumped into the ocean will most likely affect the ocean circulation that regulates our temperature.
Mathematics is delving in to ever-wider aspects of the physical world. Here Oxford Mathematician Alain Goriely describes how mathematicians and engineers are working with medics to better understand the workings of the human brain and in particular the issue of abnormal skull growth.
Oxford Mathematician Doireann O'Kiely was recently awarded the IMA's biennial Lighthill-Thwaites Prize for her work on the production of thin glass sheets. Here Doireann describes her work which was conducted in collaboration with Schott AG.
Many anticorruption advocates are excited about the prospects that “big data” will help detect and deter graft and other forms of malfeasance. But good data alone isn’t enough. To be useful, there must be a group of interested and informed users, who have both the tools and the skills to analyse the data to uncover misconduct, and then lobby governments and donors to listen to and act on the findings.
The human body comprises an incredibly large number of cells. Estimates place the number somewhere in the region of 70 trillion, and that’s even before taking into account the microbes and bacteria that live in and around the body. Yet inside each cell, a myriad of complex processes occur to conceive and sustain these micro-organisms.
We all know there is no guaranteed way of beating the bank in a casino or predicting the tossing of a coin. Well maybe. Perhaps a little more thought and a large dose of mathematics could help optimise our strategies.
Michael Bonsall, Professor of Mathematical Biology at Oxford University's Department of Zoology, discusses his research in population biology, what it tells us about species evolution and, in particular, why grandmothering is important to humans. His research was done in conjunction with Oxford Mathematician Jared Field.
"What is mathematical biology?
As part of our series of research articles focusing on the rigour and intricacies of mathematics and its problems, Oxford Mathematician James Sparks discusses his latest work.
"Two great successes of 20th century theoretical physics are Quantum Field Theory and General Relativity.
Oxford Mathematicians Tamsin Lee and Peter Grindrod discuss their latest research on the brain, part of our series focusing on the complexities and applications of mathematical research and modelling.
As part of our series of research articles deliberately focusing on the rigour and intricacies of mathematics and its problems, Eminent Oxford Mathematician and number theorist Roger Heath-Brown discusses his latest work.
"Since retiring last September I've had plenty of time for research. Here is something I've been looking into.
From studying the rhythmic movements, researchers at the Universities of York, Birmingham, Oxford and Kyoto University, Japan, have developed a mathematical formula which makes it easier to understand and predict how sperm make the journey to fertilise an egg. This knowledge will help scientists to gauge why some sperm are successful in fertilisation and others are not.
Oxford Mathematician Neave O’Clery recently moved to Oxford from the Center for International Development at Harvard University where she worked on the development of mathematical models to describe the processes behind industrial diversification and economic growth. Here she discusses how network science can help us understand the success of cities, and provide practical tools for policy-makers.
A resting frog can deform the lily pad on which it sits. The weight of the frog applies a localised load to the lily pad (which is supported by the buoyancy of the liquid below), thus deforming the pad. Whether or not the frog knows it, the physical scenario of a floating elastic sheet subject to an applied load is present in a diverse range of situations spanning a spectrum of length scales. At global scales the gravitational loading of the lithosphere by mountain ranges and volcanic sea mounts involve much the same physical ingredients.
The classic picture of how spheres deform (e.g. when poked) is that they adopt something called 'mirror buckling' - this is a special deformation (an isometry) that is geometrically very elegant. This deformation is also very cheap (in terms of the elastic energy) and so it has long been assumed that this is what a physical shell (e.g. a ping pong ball or beach ball) will do when poked. However, experience shows that actually many shells don’t adopt this state - instead, beach balls wrinkle and ping pong balls crumple.