Maths Events

Notice of some interesting maths events coming up over the next few months.

LMS Popular Lectures

Each year, the LMS Popular Lectures feature two lecturers, who have been chosen for their mathematical distinction. Usually, there is one pure mathematician and one applied mathematician.

The London Mathematical Society will be hosting its annual Popular Lectures 2012 on Tuesday 26 June in London and Wednesday 26 September in Birmingham. These events are free and this year is the lectures' 30th anniversary. This year's prestigious speakers are Professor Tim Gowers FRS (University of Cambridge) speaking on "Can anything be salvaged from the wreckage of Hilbert’s dream?" and Professor Sir Roger Penrose FRS (University of Oxford), who will discuss "On Attempting to Model the Mathematical Mind".

Institute of Education, London, Tuesday 26 June
King Edward School, Birmingham, Wednesday 26September
Professor Tim Gowers FRS (University of Cambridge)
Can anything be salvaged from the wreckage of Hilbert’s dream?
Could we program a computer to do maths at least as well as we do it? This is a formidable challenge, for reasons that Tim Gowers will discuss, but despite the difficulties he will try to persuade you that the answer is yes.!

Professor Sir Roger Penrose FRS (University of Oxford)
On Attempting to Model the Mathematical Mind
In this talk, Roger Penrose introduces the idea of a 'cautious oracle' as a more human version of Turing's oracles (a way of modelling the mathematical mind). He reports on some startling new experiments, which appear to point to new insights into brain activity, and he speculates on how this might relate to the power of human understanding.

London: commences at 7pm, refreshments at 8pm, ends at 9.30pm.
Birmingham: commences at 6.30pm, refreshments at 7.30pm, ends at 9pm.

To register for free tickets, email Lee-Anne Parker or complete and return a downloadable registration form. Please register by Thursday 21 June (London), or Friday 21 September (Birmingham).

MEI Summer One Day Courses for teachers


Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI) is running two free one-day courses for students this summer as part of their Integrating Mathematical Problem Solving project. Both these courses are free, but the number of spaces available is limited.

The Language of the Universe takes place at the National STEM Centre at York on 22 June, and is suitable for teachers of A-level STEM subjects, who want to help their students understand better how mathematics is used in solving scientific problems.

Everybody Counts takes place at the University of Leeds on 4 July. It will be suitable for teachers of A-level geography, psychology, sociology, economics and business who want to help their students cope better with the mathematical and statistical demands of further study.