June 2014 Society Meetings Society and Events SHEPHARD PRIZE: NEW PRIZE Meetings for MATHEMATICS 2014 and Events Following a Very Generous Tions Open in Late 2014

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NEWSLETTER No. 437 June 2014 Society Meetings Society and Events SHEPHARD PRIZE: NEW PRIZE Meetings FOR MATHEMATICS 2014 and Events Following a very generous tions open in late 2014. The prize Monday 16 June donation made by Professor may be awarded to either a single Midlands Regional Meeting, Loughborough Geoffrey Shephard, the London winner or jointly to collaborators. page 11 Mathematical Society will, in 2015, The mathematical contribution Friday 4 July introduce a new prize. The prize, to which an award will be made Graduate Student to be known as the Shephard must be published, though there Meeting, Prize will be awarded bienni- is no requirement that the pub- London ally. The award will be made to lication be in an LMS-published page 8 a mathematician (or mathemati- journal. Friday 4 July cians) based in the UK in recog- Professor Shephard himself is 1 Society Meeting nition of a specific contribution Professor of Mathematics at the Hardy Lecture to mathematics with a strong University of East Anglia whose London intuitive component which can be main fields of interest are in page 9 explained to those with little or convex geometry and tessella- Wednesday 9 July no knowledge of university math- tions. Professor Shephard is one LMS Popular Lectures ematics, though the work itself of the longest-standing members London may involve more advanced ideas. of the LMS, having given more page 17 The Society now actively en- than sixty years of membership. Tuesday 19 August courages members to consider The Society wishes to place on LMS Meeting and Reception nominees who could be put record its thanks for his support ICM 2014, Seoul forward for the award of a in the establishment of the new page 11 Shephard Prize when nomina- prize. Saturday 6 September Mathematics and the First FELLOWS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY 2014 World War Meeting, Among those elected to Fellow- • Martin Hairer, Regius Profes- London ship of the Royal Society in 2014 sor of Mathematics, Math- Wednesday were: ematics Institute, University 24 September • Tom Bridgeland, Professor of of Warwick LMS Popular Lectures Pure Mathematics, School of • Vladimir Markovic, Sadleirian Birmingham Mathematics and Statistics, Professor of Mathematics, De- page 17 University of Sheffield partment of Pure Mathemat- Friday 14 November • Geoffrey Grimmett, Profes- ics and Mathematics Statistics, LMS AGM sor of Mathematical Statis- University of Cambridge London page 3 tics, Statistical Laboratory, For further information visit NEWSLETTER University of Cambridge, and the website at https://royalso NEWSLETTERONLINE: Master, Downing College, ciety.org/about-us/fellowship/ ONLINE:newsletter.lms.ac.uk Cambridge new-fellows-2014/. newsletter.lms.ac.uk LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

GENERAL MEETING mitting proposals are at www.newton.ac.uk/ Contents callprop.html. No. 437 June 2014 There will be a General Meeting of the Anyone interested in making a proposal Society on Friday 4 July 2014 at 3.30 pm, to is encouraged to contact the Director, John be held at the Chartered Institute of Public Toland, by telephone or email, for advice Relations, 52-53 Russell Square, London and informal feedback (tel: 01223 335980, WC1B 4HP. The business shall be: email: [email protected]). • amendment to LMS By-Laws The Isaac Newton Institute is a national • the appointment of Scrutineers research institute based in Cambridge, UK. • announcement of Council’s recommenda- It attracts scientists from all over the world tion for Election to Honorary Membership to research programmes in all areas of the • announcement of LMS prize winners for mathematical sciences. At any time there 7 14 2014. are two visitor programmes at the Institute, The General Meeting will be followed each with about twenty participants. For by a Society meeting. I hope that as many more information visit the website at www. Awards Projection and Slicing Theorems in members as possible will be able to attend. newton.ac.uk. Fellows of the Royal Society...... 1 Fractal Geometry...... 25 Fiona Nixon Shephard Prize...... 1 Representations of Hecke Algebras...... 26 Executive Secretary LMS launches Calendar of Events...... 34 Set Theory...... 25 Stable Homotopy Theory...... 23 YouTube channel LMS Items ISAAC NEWTON INSTITUTE Water Waves...... 26 Council Diary...... 6 Visit the new LMS YouTube channel where Call for Proposals 2 General Meeting...... 3 Members' opinions you can view the Society’s prestigious Popular 3 Hardy Lecture Tour...... 13 Should Mathematicians The Isaac Newton Institute now invites Lectures free of charge. All of the lectures LMS Launches YouTube Channel...... 3 Cooperate with GCHQ?...... 28 proposals for one-, four- and six-month from 2009 onwards are now available and Transactions of the LMS...... 12 News research programmes in any branch of the the remaining back catalogue of lectures LMS Meetings European News...... 6 mathematical sciences. Please note a special will be added over the next few weeks. Once General Society Meeting, Hardy Lecture....9 Isaac Newton Institute - Call case should be made for shorter proposals you have visited the site please bookmark Graduate Student Meeting...... 8 for Proposals...... 3 and there is no guarantee these will be it or share it with your friends, helping to ICM meeting and reception...... 11 Love & Math...... 12 held in the summer. The deadline for sub- spread the word about the beauty of math- Popular Lectures 2014...... 17 Mathematics Policy Round-up...... 4 mission is 31 July 2014, for consideration ematics. Midlands Regional Meeting...... 11 Rites of Love and Math...... 12 at the meeting of the Scientific Steering The channel can be accessed at http:// LMS Records of Proceedings The Infinite Puzzle...... 7 Committee in October 2014. Details on sub- tinyurl.com/n849jv4. Mary Cartwright Meeting 2014...... 19 Obituary Meetings Green, Sandy...... 29 Editorial team Publication dates and deadlines Additive Combinatorics...... 20 Reports http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk Bianchi and Siegel Modular Forms...... 20 Integrable Models, Conformal Field Published monthly, except August. Items and BioDynamics Workshop...... 21 Theory and Related Topics...... 18 Editorial office General Editor advertisements by the first day of the month prior BSHM Meeting...... 22 London Mathematical Society, Mr A.J.S. Mann to publication, or the closest preceding working day. Kent Spectral Theory...... 15 De Morgan House, 57–58 Russell ([email protected]) Notices and advertisements are not accepted for Bounded Gaps Between Primes...... 16 Research Visit to South Africa...... 14 Square, London WC1B 4HS events that occur in the first week of the publication Reports Editor Contact Geometry...... 21 (t: 020 7637 3686; month. Reviews f: 020 7323 3655) Professor R.A. Wilson Galway Topology Colloquium...... 24 ([email protected]) News items and notices in the Newsletter may be Codebreaker: A Life in Music...... 33 ICM 2014...... 10 Events calendar freely used elsewhere unless otherwise stated, Moebius Noodles...... 30 Updates and corrections to Reviews Editor although attribution is requested when reproducing Interdisciplinary Approaches to Professor D. Singerman The Best Writing on [email protected] whole articles. Contributions to the Newsletter Understanding Microbial Communities....27 ([email protected]) are made under a non-exclusive licence; please Mathematics 2014...... 31 Articles Kent Algebra Days Young Researchers...... 22 Send articles to Administrative Editor contact the author or photographer for the rights to The Simpsons and Their [email protected] S.M. Oakes reproduce. The LMS cannot accept responsibility for Operator Methods In Harmonic Analysis....24 the accuracy of information in the Newsletter. Views Mathematical Secrets...... 32 ([email protected]) Orthoganal Polynomials and its Advertising expressed do not necessarily represent the views or For rates and guidelines see Typeset by the LMS at De policy of the London Mathematical Society. Interactions with Integrable Systems...... 23 Visits www.lms.ac.uk/newsletter/ Morgan House; printed by PANDA...... 25 Agler, Jim...... 20 ratecard.html Holbrooks Printers Ltd. Charity registration number: 252660. LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

MATHEMATICS SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES Exams for 15-19 year olds • Maths and Physics Chairs aims to recruit post- The House of Commons Education Select doctoral mathematics and physics trainees – POLICY ROUND-UP How standards should be set for new GCSEs Committee is holding a short inquiry to known as Chairs – from September 2014. May 2014 Ofqual has launched a consultation on how follow up its previous work on examinations • The long-term aim is to fuel the pipeline of standards should be set for new GCSEs. The for 15 to 19 year olds in England. 16-18 year olds progressing to study math- RESEARCH consultation runs until 30 June 2014. The inquiry covers issues relating to GCSEs ematics and science at university and/or into Following a previous announcement that and A levels as raised in the Committee’s employment. Minister announces further investment in new GCSEs will be graded from 9 to 1, with 9 reports on the administration of examina- • Leading businesses sponsor individual Chairs, doctoral training being the top grade, Ofqual is now asking for tions for 15 to 19 year olds in England (July including contributing to their training costs. Postgraduate training in the UK’s uni- views on how performance standards should 2012), From GCSEs to EBCs: the government’s • As well as building relationships with post- versities is to receive another injection be set and maintained for them, and how the proposals for reform (January 2013) and 2012 doctoral researchers, businesses that sponsor of funding from EPSRC. This year EPSRC grading system could work. More informa- English GCSE results (June 2013). This includes the Programme will offer opportunities to is investing £83.5 million through its tion is available at http://tinyurl.com/paehodl. current plans for the administration and the schools and students. Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) structure of the new GCSEs and A levels. • Each Chair will receive a significant salary (previously known as DTG). More infor- Linked pair of GCSEs in mathematics (MLP) Written comments were invited with a increase that will take their total salary and mation is available at www.epsrc.ac.uk/ evaluation deadline of 21 May 2014. Oral evidence will benefit package to£ 40,000 in the first year. newsevents/news/2014/Pages/phdtraining. Research into the effectiveness of the linked be taken from Ofqual in June 2014, followed More information is available at www.re aspx. pair of GCSEs in mathematics in increasing by evidence from the Secretary of State for searchersinschools.org/researchers/maths-and- pupil participation in mathematics beyond Education at a later date, with further details physics-uplift/. Triennial Review of the Research Councils GCSE level has been published. More in- being announced in due course. OTHER The Department for Business, Innovation formation is available at http://tinyurl.com/ More information is available at http:// 4 and Skills (BIS) has published its Triennial l33yqvd. tinyurl.com/mcvd7fu. House of Lords Report: International STEM 5 Review of the UK’s seven Research The LMS’s previous response is available Students Councils. ‘The review, which examined the Core maths technical guidance consultation at http://www.lms.ac.uk/sites/lms.ac.uk/files/ An ‘unwelcoming’ UK has led to an unprece- form, function and governance of the UK’s The Department for Education (DfE) has files/reports/Parliamentary_Inquiry.pdf. dented fall in international Science, Technol- Research Councils, has recognised that published technical guidance for new core ogy, Engineering and Maths (STEM) student the Research Councils are working from mathematics qualifications. The consultation Maths and Physics Chairs Programme numbers, according to a House of Lords a position of strength. The review has closed on 26 May 2014. More information is This Programme is a new government ini- Science and Technology Committee report. also confirmed that the current number available at http://tinyurl.com/odvspy2. tiative looking to increase the supply of More information and the full report are and structure of the Research Councils is mathematics and physics teachers with high- available at http://tinyurl.com/nbqbvca. right’. The review is available at http:// ACME note of round table on implementing level subject expertise in non-selective state Dr John Johnston tinyurl.com/mch9j2h. the new National Curriculum schools. Joint Promotion of Mathematics ACME convened a round table discussion HIGHER EDUCATION in March 2014. The report is now published HEFCE Report: Higher Education in and summarises the main issues raised and England 2014 identifies next steps for implementation The report aims to provide an overview of the National Curriculum for key groups. of recent shifts and longer-term trends, The report is available at http://tinyurl.com/ building a picture of publicly-funded mbzk56g. higher education in England in 2014 and a sense of how it got to where it is. It also Mathematics teachers Golden Hello scheme considers possible further changes and From April 2014 a Golden Hello scheme will be continuities in the year ahead. The report implemented for new graduate mathematics shows that ‘science, technology, engineer- teachers in further education (FE). This is part ing and mathematics subjects continue a of the wider strategy to improve the quality trend of growth’. of FE teaching and learning, announced by The report and key facts publication are Matthew Hancock, the Skills and Enterprise available at www.hefce.ac.uk/heineng Minister, in February 2014. A summary note land/2014/. is available at http://tinyurl.com/mznuxqb. LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

Institut Mittag-Leffler LMS COUNCIL DIARY ture are currently meeting the expectations more importantly, without such develop- 28 March 2014 of the budget. Treasurer Rob Curtis took ment, how will the challenges which will The Institut Mittag-Leffler in Djursholm, us though a large, highly coloured spread- emerge twenty years from now be solved? Sweden invites the submission of proposals for a A personal view sheet. It was, he was pleased to say, a pretty The new organization EU-MATHS-IN has one week mathematical conference, workshop, The agenda for the March Council meeting bland document: most of the variances were been established to increase the impact of or summer school during the period 1 June to was unusually light, which left time to discuss explained by amounts being paid or received mathematics on innovations in key tech- 17 July 2015. Deadline: 20 July 2014. Further the minutes of the previous meeting — not early or late. One notable exception was that nologies and to foster the development information available at: www.mittag-leffler. the content, but the question of how detailed spending on grants was currently above the of new modeling, simulation and optimi- se/?q=call_for_conferences. they should be. There was a clear division revised budget. This had arisen because of zation tools. It aims (both for companies [Source: euro-math-soc.eu/news.html, 4 Apr 2014] between those who leant towards only a recent significant increase in applications and for scientists of other disciplines) to recording decisions and those who would (particularly for conferences and ‘research in become a dedicated one-stop-shop and New call: Horizon 2020 - COFUND prefer to have a record of the debate. The pairs’). Council was very happy to approve service unit to coordinate and facilitate A new call was issued under EU's programme one thing that I think everybody agreed upon the reinstatement of the original budget. the required exchanges in the field of HORIZON 2020. The COFUND scheme aims at was the legal right of Council members to ask Similarly, increased catering and room-hire application-driven mathematical research stimulating regional, national or international for a dissenting voice to be recorded. costs for October’s BCS-FACS Evening Seminar and its exploitation for innovations in programmes to foster excellence in research- Under President’s business, Terry Lyons (reported on in the April Newsletter) were industry, science and society. For this it ers' training, mobility and career develop- reported on a meeting of the Executive entirely acceptable since the meeting had will build an e-infrastructure that provides ment, spreading the best practices of Marie Committee of the European Mathematical attracted an attendance of more than double tailored access to information and fa- Skłodowska-Curie actions. This will be achieved Society that had been held at De Morgan that of previous years. cilitates communication and exchange by by co-funding new or existing regional, national, House. He had been surprised that he needed After lunch, Librarian June Barrow-Green player-specific sets of services. It will act and international programmes to open up to, to explain to some European colleagues that gave us a fascinating report on the work of as facilitator, translator, educator and link and provide for, international, intersectoral and 6 the LMS was more than a publishing house. the Library Committee. I, at least, had not between and among the various players interdisciplinary research training, as well as 7 He had been interested to hear that the been aware of what a range of material the and their communities in Europe. transnational and cross-sectoral mobility of re- Deloitte report (http://www.cms.ac.uk/files/ Society possesses. I was particularly inter- For further information on the strategic searchers at all stages of their career. Further Submissions/article_EconomicBenefits.pdf) has ested to hear about the Plücker collection of and short-term goals of EU-MATHS-IN, on information available at: http://tinyurl.com/ been having an impact beyond the UK; in the wooden models of surfaces, now housed in its structure and activity, you are invited o6vauzb. Netherlands there has been a similar study. the Science Museum. to visit the website www.eu-maths-in.eu. [Source: euro-math-soc.eu/news.html, 24 Apr 2014] Amongst other matters that Terry raised As usual the final agenda item was Mem- was the recent budget announcement that bership. Council approved another batch of [Adapted from a document of the European David Chillingworth the Chancellor had approved funding for a new members, and the Treasurer reported, as Science Foundation www.esf.org ] LMS/EMS Correspondent ‘Turing Institute’ aimed at promoting inter- an update on his presentation of membership action between Mathematics, Science and demographics at the February meeting, that Business. a further analysis of recent recruitment had THE INFINITE PUZZLE A major item for this meeting was the shown a healthier perspective on the Society’s half-year financial review in which Council gender balance than did the overall figures. The Institute of Art and Ideas hosts a debate with world-leading scientists and mathematicians receives a report of how income and expendi- Francis Clarke on the topic of infinity. They ask, is infinity purely a mathematical concept, or can it be applied to the world of physics too? The universe is infinite, or so we believe. But might it be a mistake to apply the mathemati- EUROPEAN NEWS the costly production of prototypes and cal concept of infinity to the universe? Would it be more helpful to see infinity as an ineffable classical trial-and-error approaches. notion, or should we accept that mathematics EU-MATHS-IN Under the (false) assumption that the rules? We all know that mathematics has become challenges which are identified today can The Panel a key enabling technology in all areas be addressed by routine applications of of science and applications. The devel- the state-of-the-art mathematical results Inflationary cosmologist Laura Mersini-Houghton opment of new products or production available, it may seem that further de- from Carolina joins theoretical physicist Julian processes today is dominated by the use velopment of mathematics as a discipline Barbour and award-winning mathematician of simulation and optimization methods is not a priority which can be justified Peter Cameron to make sense of the infinite. that, based on a detailed mathemati- by economically measured efficiency. Of For further information visit the website at cal modeling, support or even replace course, just the opposite is true. Even http://iai.tv/video/the-infinite-puzzle. LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

GRADUATE STUDENT MEETING GENERAL SOCIETY MEETING Friday 4 July 2014 Friday 4 July 2014 Russell Room, CIPR, 52-53 Russell Square, London WC1B 4HP Russell Room, CIPR, 52-53 Russell Square, London WC1B 4HP (Nearest tube: Russell Square) (Nearest tube: Russell Square) This meeting is intended as an introduction to the Society Meeting later in the day. All graduate students (and indeed any other mathematicians) will be very welcome.

Preliminary Programme 09.30 Coffee and Registration 10.00 First Speaker (tbc) 11.00 Coffee/Tea 11.15 Graduate student talks 12.45 Lunch 8 13.40 Award prizes 9 13.45 Second Speaker (tbc) 14.45 Close of Meeting G.H. Hardy, LMS President 15.30 LMS General Meeting and Hardy Lecture at the CIPR (see below) 1926-1928 and 1939-1941

3.30 Opening of the meeting and LMS business, including the announcement of the Registration 2014 Prize winners (open to all) To register, please email Elizabeth Fisher ([email protected]) by email by 27 June. Nina Snaith (Bristol) Places are free and all refreshments including lunch will be provided. Title tbc Student Talks 4.45 Tea/Coffee Students are invited to give short talks (15 minutes) aimed at a general mathematical audience. Prizes will be awarded for the best two talks. If you would like to give a talk, 5.15 Percy Deift (NYU) - Hardy Lecturer please email Elizabeth Fisher ([email protected]). Universality in numerical computations with random data. Case studies. (P. Travel Deift, G. Menon, S. Olver and T. Trogdon) The lectures will be held in the Russell Room, CIPR, 52-53 Russell Square, London WC1B Abstract: Universal fluctuations are shown to exist when well-known and 4HP. For directions, see: www.cipr.co.uk/content/venue-and-room-hire/location widely used numerical algorithms are applied with random data. Similar Travel grants of up to £50 are available for students who attend both the Graduate universal behavior is shown in stochastic algorithms and algorithms that model Student Meeting and the Annual General Meeting. neural computation. The question of whether universality is present in all, or nearly all, computation is raised. LMS General Meeting and Hardy Lecture The LMS General Meeting is a Society Meeting, which is open to all. 6.30 Reception - De Morgan House Nina Snaith (Bristol) will give the first lecture and Percy Deift (NYU) will give the Hardy 7.30 Society Dinner Lecture on Universality in numerical computations with random data. Case studies. (P. These lectures are aimed at a general mathematical audience. All interested, whether Deift, G. Menon, S. Olver and T. Trogdon). The meeting will also be held in the Russell LMS members or not, are most welcome to attend this event. Room at the CIPR. After the meeting, there will be a reception at De Morgan House, 57-58 Russell Square. To register for your place at the meeting, contact Elizabeth Fisher (lmsmeetings@lms. ac.uk). For further details see: www.lms.ac.uk/content/society-meetings LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

ICM 2014 SOCIETY MEETING & RECEPTION at the ICM 2014, Seoul, South Korea The International Congress of Mathematicians 2014 will be held Tuesday 19 August 2014 from 13 to 21 August 2014 in Seoul, Korea. The venue, COEX Grand Ballroom 101, COEX Convention Centre convention center, is located in the Gangnam area, the heart of Korean culture and business. 5.00 Opening of the meeting Numbers Jean-Pierre Bourguignon • NAUM 2014 Program: travel grants to 1,000 mathematicians Title tbc • Abstracts Submission: 1,975 abstracts received from 110 countries 6.00 Reception (ticket required) • Satellite Conferences: 53 conferences in Korea and neighboring countries Registration Scientific Program Schedules LMS members will have the opportunity to sign the Membership Book which dates back to 1865. The full list and schedule of the plenary speakers and sectional invited speakers is For a ticket to the reception, please email Elizabeth Fisher: [email protected] available from the website (www.icm2014.org). The LMS will also be hosting a stand at the ICM and we would be delighted to welcome our members in Seoul. Advance registration Onsite registration Category 10 by 10 July 2014 after 11 July 2014 11 Full Registration $500 $550 Student $250 $300 Accompanying person $120 $150 LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY Sponsorship MIDLANDS REGIONAL MEETING The SEOUL ICM 2014 welcomes any organizations or companies wishing to support Loughborough University: Monday 16 June 2014 this event. Package sponsorship and exclusive sponsorship are available and they offer various compensation models to meet different needs and to maximize 2.00 pm Opening of the meeting exposure during the Congress. For more information, please visit the official SEOUL Werner Müller (Bonn University) ICM 2014 website. 3.00 pm Gigliola Staffilani (MIT) 4.00 pm Tea/Coffee Family Friendly ICM 4.30 pm Alexander Pushnitski (King's College London) Seoul offers a wide range of family-oriented activities and programs. Join the SEOUL 6.00 pm Wine Reception/Dinner ICM 2014 with your family and have a memorable time with your loved ones in These lectures are aimed at a general mathematical audience. All interested, whether LMS Seoul. members or not, are most welcome to attend this event. For further details and to register and to reserve a place at the dinner, please visit http:// homepages.lboro.ac.uk/~maeh/waves14/lms14.html. The cost of the dinner will be approx- imately £35, including drinks. The meeting forms part of a workshop on Scattering Theory and Wave Equations from 16-18 June 2014. For further details visit: http://homepages.lboro.ac.uk/~maeh/waves14/ index.html or contact the organiser ([email protected]). There are funds available to contribute in part to the expenses of members of the Society or research students to attend the meeting and workshop. Requests for support, including Deoksugung Palace Teaism N Seoul Tower an estimate of expenses, may be addressed to the organisers. LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

LOVE & MATH

As part of the book Love & Math has been named one of Activities on the Best Books of 2013 by both Amazon and Symmetries and iBooks, and is currently being translated into LMS HARDY FELLOW 2014 Correspondenc- nine languages. For more information about es Conference the book visit http://loveandmathbook.com/. The 2014 LMS Hardy Fellow is Professor Percy Deift (LMS Newslet- (NYU). ter, May 2014) The Hardy Fellowship was founded in 1967 in there will be a RITES OF LOVE AND MATH memory of G.H. Hardy in recognition of outstanding public presen- contribution to both mathematics and to the Society. tation of the A screening The Hardy Fellowship is a lecture tour of the UK by new book Love of the film a mathematician with a high reputation in research. Professor Percy Deift and Math by Rites of Love Edward Frenkel and Math Percy Deift will visit the UK in June and July 2014 and he will give talks at: (LMS News- by Edward letter review Frenkel and Bristol Leeds November Reine Graves On the Asymptotic behavior of a log gas in Long-time asymptotics for solutions of the 2013). (26 minutes), the bulk scaling limit in the presence of a NLS equation with a delta potential and Marcus du Sautoy, Simonyi Professor for followed by a varying external potential (T Bothner, even initial data (P Deift and J Park). Public Understanding of Science, Oxford panel discus- P Deift, A Its and I Krasovsky). 25 June 12 University, will be the moderator of a short sion, will take 17 June at 4 pm Organiser: Will Anscombe 13 presentation and discussion taking place at place on 3 July Powell Lecture Theatre, School of Physics Theatre L2, Mathematical Institute, Oxford 2014 at 6 pm Organiser: Francesco Mezzadri Loughborough from 4 pm – 5 pm on 7 July. Questions can at Somerset Toeplitz matrices and Toeplitz determinants be submitted by Twitter using the hashtag House, Strand, Reading under the impetus of the Ising Model: some Asymptotics of Toeplitz, Hankel and history and some recent results (P Deift, #loveandmath London. Toeplitz+Hankel determinants with Fisher- A Its and I Krasovsky). Edward Frenkel is a professor of mathemat- Edward Frenkel co-produced, co-directed, Hartwig singularities (P Deift, A Its and 26 June ics at the University of California at Berkeley, and played the lead in this film (LMS Newslet- I Krasovsky). Organiser: Martin Hallnas the winner of the Hermann Weyl Prize in ter review September 2010). 18 June mathematical physics, and a member of the For more information visit http://riteso Organiser: Beatrice Pelloni Cambridge American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His floveandmath.com. On the Asymptotic behavior of a log gas in Oxford the bulk scaling limit in the presence of a Universality in numerical computations with varying external potential (T Bothner, TRANSACTIONS OF THE LMS random data. Case studies (P Deift, P Deift, A Its and I Krasovsky). G Menon, S Olver and T Trogdon). 1 July We are pleased to announce that the first paper Transactions covers 20 June Organiser: Tadashi Tokieda Organiser: Karin Erdmann has been published in the new journal Transac- the same subjects London tions of the London Mathematical Society. The as the Bulletin, Edinburgh Universality in numerical computations paper, ‘A weak*-topological dichotomy with Journal and Pro- Perturbation theory for infinite-dimensional with random data. Case studies (P Deift, applications in operator theory’ by Tomasz ceedings of the integrable systems on the line. A case study G Menon, S Olver and T Trogdon). Kania, Piotr Koszmider and Niels J. Laustsen, London Mathe- (P Deift and X Zhou). 4 July at 3.30 pm is freely available via http://dx.doi.org/10.1112/ matical Society and 24 June CIPR, Russell Square tlms/tlu001. shares the same Organiser: Adri Olde Dalalhis Organiser: LMS ([email protected]) The Transactions is a fully open access online Editorial Advisory journal designed to accommodate those Board. More infor- For further information on attending each lecture, please contact the local organisers. Abstracts for these lectures can be found on the LMS website: authors who prefer to publish in an open- mation is available www.lms.ac.uk/content/hardy-lectureship access only journal, or who may be required at www.lms.ac.uk/ For general enquiries about the Hardy Lectures, please contact Elizabeth Fisher by their funding grants to do so. The publications/tlms. ([email protected]). LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

© Paris Iliopoulos Photography RESEARCH VISIT exchange of ideas: string combinatorics, and proteomic sequences. cellular & symmetric difference automata, Participants of this South Africa–UK col- TO SOUTH large scale detection of repetitions in laborative research network met again AFRICA strings, and software design & tools. Col- at the London Stringology Days/London leagues later met in Cape Town to endorse Algorithmic Workshop (LSD & LAW 2014), Report the festschrift. King’s College London from 6 to 7 February I would like to thank the Research produced under this Scheme 2014*. Strategies were discussed for London Mathematical 5 grant has been collated into articles future activities including a Colloquium on Society for the award of an including, A text transformation scheme Stringology at the University of Pretoria in International Short Visits for degenerate strings, J.W. Daykin & B. autumn 2014. Scheme 5 grant in support Watson, presented at the 2nd Internation- Jacqueline Daykin of a research visit to South al Conference on Algorithms for Big Data Royal Holloway & King’s College Africa during autumn 2013. (ICABD 2014) in Palermo, Italy from 7 to 9 University of London The purpose of the trip April 2014. The conference focused on the was to collaborate with application of mathematical theories and *A report of this meeting was published in the Jacqueline Daykin after her talk at the LMS Newsletter, May 2014, p18. Professor Bruce Watson, International Conference on Algorithms for Big Data methods to big biological data - DNA/RNA Department Chair of Infor- mation Science, Centre for Knowledge sorting and searching in big data. Post- Dynamics and Decision-making, University graduates at UCT contributed knowledge KENT SPECTRAL the valley. Monday evening saw a wine of Stellenbosch (SU). Meetings were also on specific African viruses in relation to ap- reception sponsored by the School of Math- held at the Institute of Infectious Disease plications of the combinatorics of next gen- THEORY MEETING ematics, Statistics & Actuarial Science at the 14 and Molecular Medicine, a postgradu- eration sequence alignment and degener- Report University of Kent and there was a confer- 15 ate research institute within the Faculty ate/indeterminate biological strings. ence dinner at the Cafe du Soleil in the city of Health Sciences at the University of A Fest-colloquium was held at SU on 3 The Kent Spectral Theory Meeting took centre on the Tuesday night. Together with Cape Town (UCT). Informal seminars with October 2013 in honour of Professor Derrick place at the University of Kent from 14 to the regular coffee breaks, this provided academic staff and postgraduate students Kourie of the Department of Computer 17 April 2014. Around 40 participants from ample time for discussions, both of the at SU and UCT expedited a common ground Science, School of Information Technology, across Europe and the UK gathered in Can- mathematical and non-mathematical type. for research. University of Pretoria. I was invited to give a terbury to discuss spectral theory, operator The invited speakers at the meeting were Professor Watson and I identified related talk at this event: A non-lexicographic data theory, complex analysis and mathematical Jussi Behrndt (Graz, Austria), B. Malcolm key topics to pursue: specialized Burrows- clustering scheme. Researchers – postgrad- physics. Applications in various fields, such as Brown (Cardiff), Christina Camara (Lisbon, Wheeler text transformations and associat- uate, early stage and experienced - from scattering theory, hydrodynamics, quantum Portugal), E. Brian Davies, FRS (King's ed suffix arrays; the design and analysis of various South African and international in- graphs, Riemann-Hilbert problems, elliptic College London), Plamen Djakov (Istanbul, predicate automata; and pattern inference, stitutions attended, allowing a stimulating differential operators, Toeplitz operators Turkey), Des Evans (Cardiff), Daphne and Jacobi matrices were considered. One Gilbert (Dublin), Gerd Grubb (Copenha- particular focus was the interaction between gen, Denmark), Jan Janas (Krakow, Poland), classical selfadjoint operator theory and Stanislas Kupin (Bordeaux, France), Pavel modern non-selfadjoint operator theory. Kurasov (Stockholm, Sweden), Heinz Langer The wide range of speakers included many (Vienna, Austria), Ari Laptev (Imperial established experts in the field. There were College London), Marco Marletta (Cardiff), also seven talks by research students, giving Boris Pavlov (St Petersburg/Auckland), these young mathematicians the chance to Michael Plum (Karlsruhe, Germany), Roman present their research to a sizeable audience. Romanov (St Petersburg, Russia), Alexander All the talks gave many interesting insights Sobolev (UCL) and Christiane Tretter (Bern, into recent developments in the area. The Switzerland). packed schedule included talks from 9.30 We thank the LMS, as well as EU Marie © J. Daykin © J. Daykin am until 6 pm on the first three days and Curie Action and the University of Kent, finished with lunch on the Thursday. Each Faculty of Science for financial support. Signing the festschrift publication in Cape Town. Derrick Kourie wearing his Clockwise: Derrick Kourie, Costas Iliopoulos, fest-colloquium gift (the hat) day lunch was served in Rutherford College Sergey Naboko & Ian Wood Bruce Watson, Bill Smyth and Loek Cleophas with a beautiful view of the cathedral in University of Kent LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY POPULAR LECTURES 2014 BOUNDED GAPS BETWEEN PRIMES Institute of Education, London – Wednesday 9 July LMS-CMI Research School University of Birmingham – Wednesday 24 September Oxford 22-26 September 2014 Organisers: Ben Green and Roger Heath-Brown (Oxford) Professor Kevin Buzzard In a spectacular breakthrough, Yitang Zhang proved that there are infinitely many pairs of primes Imperial College London differing by at most 70 million. Due to further advances of Maynard and Tao and the collaborative Polymath Project, 70 million has been reduced to a few hundred. This course will introduce What’s in a number? attendees to the mathematics surrounding these developments. There will be four lecture courses: Much of our work and our leisure • Introduction to prime number theory. ζ- and L-functions, the prime number theorem (Andrew interests are now stored in digital format Granville, Montreal) -- i.e., as numbers. This has weird conse- • The Bombieri-Vinogradov theorem about distribution of primes in progressions. Introduction quences: for example some numbers are to sieve theory (Kannan Soundararajan, Stanford) now copyrighted, and other numbers are • The methods of Goldston, Pintz and Yıldırım and Maynard-Tao (James Maynard, Montreal/ illegal. Oxford) 16 Professor Buzzard will explain some of 17 • Inputs from algebraic geometry (Emmanuel Kowalski, ETH Zurich) these stories, and also what happens if These lecture courses will be supplemented by tutorial sessions. one tries to digitise mathematics itself.

Distinguished guest lectures will be given by Terence Tao (UCLA) and Yitang Zhang (University of New Hampshire). Dr Julia Gog Applications: Research students, post-docs and those working in industry are invited to apply. The University of Cambridge closing date for applications is 15 June 2014. For further information, please visit the website: www.claymath.org/events/bounded-gaps-between-primes. Applications should then be made Epidemics and viruses: the using the registration form available via the Society’s website at: www.lms.ac.uk/events/lms-cmi- mathematics of disease research-schools. Dr Gog will look at how mathematics Fees: For participants from outside Oxford (except those working in industry), fees include confer- has been applied to help understand ence fee, accommodation, meals and conference dinner. PhD students: £150; Early-career research- and control infectious diseases, from the ers: £250. For Oxford University participants, fees include conference fee, lunches and conference scale of a single virus particle through dinner only. PhD Students and Early Career Researchers: £100. to a global influenza pandemic, and For all other participants (e.g. those working in industry), fee includes conference fee, lunches considers some mathematical challenges and conference dinner only. Registration fee: £250. (Accommodation and evening meals can be for the future. requested at a further cost of £650.) All UK-based participants must pay their own travel costs. For overseas-based participants, support will be available on application if contribution towards travel costs is required. Fees are not payable until a place on the course is offered but will be due by 1 August 2014. LONDON: Commences at 7.00 pm, refreshments at 8.00 pm, ends at 9.30 pm Admission is free, with ticket. Register by Thursday 3 July. These Research Schools are co-sponsored by the Heilbronn Institute.

LMS-CMI Research Schools aim to provide training for young researchers in core areas of mathematics. Students BIRMINGHAM: Commences at 6.30 pm, refreshments at 7.30 pm, ends at 9.00 pm and post-docs can meet a number of leading experts in the topic as well as other young researchers working in Admission is free, with ticket. Register by Thursday 18 September. related areas. The LMS is the UK’s learned society for mathematics. Registered charity no. 252660 (www.lms.ac.uk) To register for tickets, please email [email protected] or visit the LMS website for The CMI is charitable private operating foundation, incorporated in the USA. abstracts and a registration form (www.lms.ac.uk/events/popular-lectures). LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

ICFT 2014 exact techniques and the related algebraic structures provide a common ground for re- Report searchers working in this area rather than a The 18th UK meeting on Integrable Models, particular class of physical systems or problems Conformal Field Theory and Related Topics and it this general aspect that often leads to RECORDS OF PROCEEDINGS AT LMS MEETINGS took place at the School of Mathematics and surprising connections between different areas Statistics, University of Glasgow from 11 to 12 with in this field. MARY CARTWRIGHT LECTURE AND SOCIETY MEETING April 2014. The workshop covered a wide range of models The Glasgow ICFT meeting followed the showing the application of integrability in held on 28 February 2014 in the Ron Cooke Hub at the University of York. format of previous meetings in this series whose other areas such as random systems (O’Connell) Over 40 members and visitors were present for all or part of the meeting. primary aims is to provide cohesion within a and non-equilibrium physics (Pasquier). Talks by research community and to stay in touch with Adamopoulou and Ruijsenaars were concerned The meeting began at 3.30 pm with The Vice-President, Professor Ken developments nationally and internationally. with more analytical questions, such as the con- Brown, in the Chair. The style of these meetings is intended to be nection between ODEs and integrable field 25 members were elected to Ordinary membership: Frederick Allen, relaxed and give early career researchers the theories and the hyperbolic Calogero-Moser Jonathan Bober, Hung Bui, Corina Constantinescu, James Dodd, Christo- opportunity to network and built professional systems, respectively. The connections with pher Fewster, Marianne Freiberger, Georgi Grahouski, Stuart Hall, Oleg contacts to foster their future career prospects. areas close to representation theory were also Karpenkov, Gabor Kiss, Daniel Loughran, Ana Loureiro, John MacKay, The programme included a mixture of presen- covered with talks on characters of W-algebras Sean Prendiville, Tristan Pryer, Dmitry Savin, Matthew Scase, Roman tations by some invited international speakers (Iles) or Drinfel’d bases of Yangians (Regelskis). Schubert, Jason Semeraro, Nicholas Shepherd-Barron, Chuong Tran, Pavel and early career researchers, i.e. PhD students in The informal structure of the meeting proved an advanced phase of their thesis and postdocs. successful with the coffee breaks between talks Tumarkin, Karen Vogtmann, Weiyi Zhang. 18 Topics were loosely centered around the and the discussion time on Friday being made 18 members were elected to Associate membership: Elizabeth Arter, 19 notion of quantum integrability, a term which good use of by the participants for follow-up Elisa Covato, Nicolas Jones, Luke Jordan, Thomas Kealy, Carl Kent, is hard to define precisely as it covers a wide discussions or engaging with some of the early Lawrence Lee, Shiping Liu, David Meier, Simon Peacock, Calum Ross, range of physical systems, such as quantum career researchers who had presented posters. Anthony Samuel, Dale Smith, Efthymios Sofos, Vinesh Solanki, Simon many-body-systems, statistical lattice models The relaxed and open setting in the Common Stead, Richard Whyman, Ryan Wissett. and low-dimensional quantum field theories. Room of the Glasgow School of Mathematics To the outsider it is best explained as systems, and Statistics and the conference dinner further Four members were elected to Associate membership for Teacher which – despite their complexity – allow for helped this networking activity along. Feedback Training Scholars: Simon Haines, David Helsby, Oriol Matas, Thandiwe the application of sophisticated mathematical on the meeting was very positive. The meeting Moyo. techniques that produce exact answers. This was attended by a relatively high number of is in stark contrast to more conventional ap- early career researchers (11 PhD students and Five members signed the book and were admitted to the Society. proaches where one often has to rely on ap- five postdoctoral researchers of a total of 35 The Treasurer, Professor Rob Curtis, also gave a short presentation on proximations or perturbative methods. These registered participants), which is an encourag- the benefits of joining the Society. ing sign for the future of the subject and shows the continued demand for Professor Gwyneth Stallard introduced a lecture given by Professor such meetings in coming years. Anne Taormina on Moonshines. The complete programme of the workshop, including abstracts of the After tea, Professor Stallard introduced the Mary Cartwright Lecture presentations as well as the online given by Professor Reidun Twarock on Viruses and geometry: hidden sym- version of some of the posters and talks, metries in virology. can be found at the workshop website: The Vice-President, Professor Brown, expressed the thanks of the Society www.maths.gla.ac.uk/~ck/ICFT2014. to the Women in Mathematics Committee for putting on a successful html. The meeting was supported by meeting. the Institute of Physics, the Glasgow Mathematical Journal Trust and an LMS Afterwards, a reception was held in the Ron Cooke hub, followed by Conference grant. dinner hosted at 31 Castlegate. Invited speakers: Neil O’Connell (Warwick/Dublin) Christian Korff and Simon Ruijsenaars (Leeds) University of Glasgow LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

VISIT OF PROFESSOR tions. He has made important discoveries in ments scheme. It is open to all, and there is Registration for students and post-docs is £50 operator theory and especially its applications no registration fee, but please help us plan and for academics £100. JIM AGLER to functions of several complex variables. by completing the registration form on the This workshop is sponsored by the Medical Professor Jim Agler (University of California at His recent research is characterized by the conference website at www.juliawolf.org/ Research Council. For further information and San Diego) will visit the School of Mathematics effective use of operator-theoretic methods to seminars/lmsheilbronn.shtml. Limited financial to register, visit the website at https://emps. and Statistics at Newcastle University from 2 to strengthen and generalize classical results in support is available to enable the participation exeter.ac.uk/mathematics/staff/jw535/biody 29 July 2014 for collaborative research with Dr several complex variables. of junior researchers (deadline for applications: namics. Zinaida Lykova and Professor Nicholas Young. Further details can be obtained from Dr 18 July 2014). Professor Agler is an expert on several Zinaida Lykova ([email protected]). CONTACT GEOMETRY branches of mathematical analysis, to This visit is supported by an LMS Research in which he has made highly original contribu- Pairs Scheme 4 grant. An international workshop on Contact Geometry in Dimension Three and Higher will take place at University College London from BIANCHI AND SIEGEL For further information visit the website at 28 July to 1 August 2014. The aim is to bring http://tberger.staff.shef.ac.uk/workshop.html. together researchers and students working MODULAR FORMS To register, contact the organiser, Tobias Berger in contact geometry and related areas in A workshop on Bianchi and Siegel Modular ([email protected]). There will be a£ 30 As part of the ongoing BioDynamics initiative symplectic topology, including topics such Forms will take place at the School of Math- registration fee to cover coffee/tea and lunches (www.bio-dynamics2013.org/) a two-day inter- as pseudoholomorphic curves, h-principles, ematics & Statistics at the University of (payable on 14 July). national workshop on Emergent Dynamics of confoliations, symplectic dynamics, mapping Sheffield from 14 to16 July 2014. Following There is support available for UK based PhD Complex Biological Networks will take place class groups, and Stein manifolds. While great progress in automorphic forms over students. Mention if you would like to apply at the University of Exeter from 23 to 24 June the majority of global results about contact 20 totally real fields, there has recently been for this in your registration email. Participants 2014. The aim of this event is to bring together manifolds known thus far are specific to 21 renewed interest in the case of automorphic with childcare responsibilities should be aware biologists and mathematicians who are using dimension three, recent years have also seen forms over imaginary quadratic fields (aka of the supplementary grant offered by the cutting-edge techniques (theoretical and/or considerable progress in higher-dimensional Bianchi modular forms). One way to study their LMS. The workshop is supported by an LMS experimental) to understand the emergent contact topology, and this workshop spe- arithmetic properties is to lift them to Siegel Conference grant. dynamics of complex biological networks. The cifically aims at introducing high-dimensional modular forms via the theta correspondence hope is that the meeting will stimulate multi- techniques to participants who might be more between O(3,1) and Sp(4). ADDITIVE COMBINATORICS disciplinary discussion, encourage the sharing familiar with low dimensions, or vice versa. This workshop brings together experts on au- of current ideas and approaches, and lead to The programme will be a mixture of ordinary tomorphic forms, Galois representations and @ BRISTOL rewarding future collaborations between the- research talks with more in-depth minicourses computational number theory to present their The School of Mathematics at the University of oretical and experimental scientists. on topics of recent interest. work on different aspects of Bianchi and Siegel Bristol will be hosting a one-day Additive Com- The workshop will consist of a number of Confirmed speakers include: modular forms. The workshop aims to inform binatorics Meeting on Thursday 18 September keynote presentations delivered by world- • Peter Albers (Münster) participants of the latest developments as well 2014, showcasing the latest developments leading scientists, who will talk about their • Jonathan Bowden (Augsburg) as stimulate further work in this exciting area at the interface of combinatorics, harmonic cutting-edge current research and highlight • Barney Bramham (Bochum) of research. The speakers will be: analysis, number theory and graph theory. The important future challenges within their field. • Roger Casals (ICMAT Madrid) • S. Böcherer (Mannheim) provisional programme is as follows: Confirmed keynote speakers include: • Yakov Eliashberg (Stanford) • T. Bouganis (Durham) • Juanjo Rué (Freie Universität Berlin) • Duccio Cavalieri (Fondazione Edmund • Rémi Leclercq (Orsay) • J. Brown (Clemson) • Tom Sanders (University of Oxford) Mach) • Patrick Massot (École Polytechnique) • L. Dembélé (Warwick) • Thomas Bloom (Heilbronn Institute/Univer- • Andrew Millar (University of Edinburgh) • Maksim Maydanskiy (Jussieu) • N. Dummigan (Sheffield) sity of Bristol) • Viktor Jirsa (Aix-Marseille Université) • Will Merry (ETH Zürich) • K. Klosin (New York) • Mark Walters (Queen Mary University of • Imogen Sparkes (University of Exeter) • Emmy Murphy (MIT) • J. Marzec (Bristol) London) • Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova ( University of • Olga Plamenevskaya (Stony Brook) • A. Pitale (Oklahoma) • Julia Wolf (University of Bristol) Exeter) • Richard Siefring (MPI Leipzig) • A. Rahm (Galway) Talks will be followed by a reception and a In addition to keynote presentations, the • Otto van Koert (Seoul National University) • A. Saha (Bristol) conference dinner. workshop will also feature a number of • Thomas Vogel (LMU Munich) • H. Şengün (Warwick) This meeting is generously supported by the selected shorter talks and poster presenta- • Andy Wand (Nantes) • J. Tilouine (Paris) Heilbronn Institute and an LMS Conference tions. The organisers are encouraging abstract • Chris Wendl (UCL) • L. Walling (Bristol, TBC) grant under the Celebrating New Appoint- submissions from both students and post-docs. The talks will also include three minicourses LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

History of Statistics that are specifically intended to be accessible BSHM MEETINGS working in these areas. It is expected that this to PhD students: Thursday 20 October 2014, BSHM–Gresham will be fruitful for both of these branches of • Orderability and Rabinowitz Floer theory The following are up and coming British College Joint Meeting, Gresham College, mathematics. The invited speakers are: (Albers and Merry) Society for the History of Mathematics London • Beatrice Pelloni (Reading) • Flexibility in higher-dimensional contact (BSHM) meetings: The meeting will explore the history of statis- • Sara Lombardo (Northumbria) geometry (Massot and Murphy) tics from various novel standpoints. Professor • Walter van Assche (Leuven) Counting and Calculation - a journey • Intersection theory of punctured holomor- Lynn McDonald (University of Guelph) will Anyone interested is welcome to attend. phic curves and applications (Siefring and through practical mathematics discuss Florence Nightingale and her Crimean Some funds may be available to contribute to Wendl) 21 to 22 June 2014, Rewley House, Oxford War Statistics, Professor R.A. Bailey (University the expenses of UK-based research students There is no registration fee but all par- Our speakers will attempt to explain the of St Andrews and Queen Mary London) will who wish to attend the meetings. Further ticipants are asked to register in advance by history and the beauty of this sort of math- consider some history of Latin squares in ex- details can be obtained from the webpage at following the link at www.homepages.ucl. ematics and some of the concepts that arose periments and Dr Eileen Magnello (University www.kent.ac.uk/smsas/events/OrthogonalPoly- ac.uk/~ucahcwe/workshop.html. from it; and each of our speakers is well- College London) will present the annual Gresh- nomials or from Ana Loureiro ([email protected]). Financial support for travel and accommoda- known for their ability to convey sophisti- am-BSHM lecture on Karl Pearson’s Gresham There is a £15 registration fee which will cover tion is available for early career researchers, cated ideas to a general audience (several Lectures on Geometry (1890-1894). the buffet lunch, coffee breaks and conference and research students based in the UK are are well-known authors of popular books in For further information visit the website material. There are also some funds available especially encouraged to apply. There is also mathematics). at www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/events. from the London Mathematical Society for some support available for participants from For further information visit the website at html#Stats. help with childcare costs (details can be found the LMS Scheme 5 countries (e.g. in Africa) or www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/G100-46. on the LMS website www.lms.ac.uk/content/ the former Soviet Union. childcare-supplementary-grants). The meeting Famous Physicists and ORTHOGONAL Participants applying for support should is supported by an LMS Conference grant. 22 register as soon as possible; the absolute reg- Mathematicians from Belfast POLYNOMIALS 23 istration deadline otherwise is 13 July 2014. Wednesday 25 June 2014, Department of Recent Advances in Orthogonal Polynomials STABLE HOMOTOPY For more information contact Chris Wendl Physics, Queen's University Belfast and its Interactions with Integrable Systems is ([email protected]). This meeting is funded Belfast has provided a base for a signifi- a one-day meeting to be held in the School of THEORY by grants from EPSRC, the European Science cant number of famous physicists and math- Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Sciences A conference on Stable Homotopy Theory: Foundation ‘CAST’ network, and an LMS Con- ematicians since the Victorian era. At this (SMSAS) at the University of Kent on Thursday structured ring spectra and their invariants ference grant. event a range of such figures will be consid- 18 September 2014. All talks will be held in will take place at MIMS, School of Math- ered, including Sir Joseph Larmor, the Nobel the Mathematics Lecture Theatre, Cornwal- ematics, University of Manchester from 3 to 5 KENT ALGEBRA DAYS Laureate ETS Walton, Peter Guthrie Tait lis Building, starting at 11 am (coffee will be September 2014. The theory of highly struc- and Sir David Bates. The event is organised available beforehand from 10.30 am) and tured ring spectra has been actively investigat- YOUNG RESEARCHERS jointly by the BSHM, the Institute of Physics, finishing by 6 pm. The event will conclude with ed by algebraic topologists since the 1960s, and The workshop Kent Algebra Days Young Re- and Queen’s University. a dinner for participants. progress has been especially spectacular over searchers (KADYR) will be held at the Universi- For further information visit the website The meeting aims to discuss recent trends the past two decades. These advances have ty of Kent in Canterbury from the 21 to 24 July at www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/meetings/ on orthogonal polynomials with a special been driven by the development of symmetric 2014. This will consist of three mini courses: PandMofBelfast2.pdf. emphasis on its interactions with integra- monoidal model categories of spectra, obstruc- • Cluster algebras and their quantum ana- ble systems. Over the last years, an intensive tion theories for the existence of multiplicative Non-Western Mathematics logues Jan Grabowski activity was focused on the study of analytic structures, and computational programmes • Nilpotent orbits and finite W-algebras Anne 27 June 2014, Mathematical Institute, and algebraic properties of orthogonal polyno- leading to dramatic new insights and applica- Moreau Oxford mials alongside with the vast plank of applications. Related activity on model categories and • Noncommutative algebraic geometry Susan • Kim Plofker (Brown University, USA) tions across mathematics. There is nowadays an infinity categories has also been important, in Sierra Indian mathematics intradisplinary approach to the subject where terms of developing theoretical background There is funding for accommodation and • Joseph Dauben (City University, New many branches of mathematics are very useful. and applicable technology. The themes of the travel allocated on a first come first serve basis. York, USA) Chinese mathematics One particular new development is the inter- conference involve several important areas For registration and further information visit • Glen Van Brummelen (Quest University, action between orthogonal polynomials and of progress since the turn of the millennium,

the website at http://tinyurl.com/m7uk4uh. Canada) Islamic mathematics integrable systems. including (co)homological invariants for En The workshop is supported by the Anglo- For further information visit the website The idea of this meeting is to promote the ring spectra, spaces of units for E-infinity ring Franco-German Representation Theory at www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/meetings/ debate and exchange of information between spectra, and relevant aspects of the theories of Network and an LMS Conference grant. ClayNoticeJune2014.pdf. international experts and people in the UK model and infinity categories. LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

The confirmed speakers are: some technique or area of interest. Graduate available for postgraduate students studying • Francois Ledrappier (Notre Dame) • Gunnar Carlsson (Stanford University) students are encouraged to present their own in the UK. • Julia Romanowska (Warsaw) • Bjørn Dundas (University of Bergen) work. The invited speakers will give a 50 minute For further information visit the website at • Kenneth Falconer (St Andrews) • John Greenlees (Sheffield University) talk each and other participants will give 20 https://sites.google.com/site/omha2014/. The • Pertti Mattila (Helsinki) • Ayelet Lindenstrauss (Indiana University) minute talks. There are no parallel sessions and workshop is funded by an LMS Conference • Tuomas Orponen (Edinburgh) • Constanze Roitzheim (University of Kent) participants would usually attend all presenta- grant and Queen's University Belfast. • Olga Maleva (Birmingham) • Steffen Sagave (University of Bonn) tions. This year the invited speakers are: • Robert Kaufman (Illinois) • Stefan Schwede (University of Bonn) • Alexander Clark (University of Leicester) PANDA • Jimmy Tseng (Bristol) • Vesna Stojanoska (Massachusetts Institute of • Mirna Džamonja (University of East Anglia) • Henna Koivusalo (York) Technology) • Klaas Pieter Hart (TU Delft) The next meeting in • Thomas Kempton (St Andrews) • Sarah Whitehouse (University of Sheffield) • Jonathan Meddaugh (Baylor University, the PANDA series on • Michal Rams (Warsaw) For details and registration form see the Texas) Patterns, Nonlinear • Károly Simon (Budapest) conference webpage at www.maths.man For further information visit the website Dynamics and Ap- Funds are available to contribute to the chester.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/ring at http://web.mat.bham.ac.uk/galway17/ or plications will be held in the Department of expenses of UK based research students who spectra2014/ or contact one of the organis- contact the organisers at 17galway@gmail. Mathematical Sciences, University of Bath on wish to attend the meeting. Further details ers: Andrew Baker (Andrew.J.Baker@glasgow. com. The workshop is supported by an LMS Tuesday 3 June 2014. Speakers will include: can be obtained from the web page at www. ac.uk), Nigel Ray ([email protected]), Conference grant. • Tanniemola Liverpool (Bristol) maths.bris.ac.uk/~matmj/projections.html. The Birgit Richter ([email protected]). Synchronization and liquid crystalline order meeting is supported by an LMS Conference The conference may be able to offer some OPERATOR METHODS IN in soft active materials grant and the Heilbronn Institute for Math- degree of financial support to participants • Sebastian Wieczorek (Exeter) ematics Research. giving contributed talks, to postgraduate HARMONIC ANALYSIS Rate-induced bifurcations: critical rates, 24 students, and to others unable to cover costs This four day workshop will be held at Queen's non-obvious thresholds, and adaptation SET THEORY: INNER AND 25 from their own sources. The conference is University Belfast from 18 to 21 August 2014 failure supported by an LMS Conference grant, the focussing on the interactions between abstract Further details can be found at http://people. OUTER MODEL THEORY Edinburgh Mathematical Society, MIMS and harmonic analysis and operator algebras. Its bath.ac.uk/jhpd20/panda/ or by contacting This meeting will take place in the School of the University of Glasgow. aim is to enhance the interchange of ideas in Jonathan Dawes ([email protected]). Mathematics at the University of Bristol from the area and inform the participants about There is no registration fee. Reimbursement Sunday 6 to Monday 7 July 2014. The focus of GALWAY TOPOLOGY latest developments in this exciting part of of travel and childcare expenses is available the meeting will be on the set theory of outer modern mathematics. The programme of the through support from the LMS Scheme 3 grant, models obtained by forcing and their fine COLLOQUIUM workshop will comprise ten invited lectures as for which the organisers are very grateful. The structure, as well as inner model theory. The This is the seventeenth in a series of annual well as contributed talks. Afternoon research PANDA network is organised by Jonathan speakers are: events taking place at institutions in Great sessions will be scheduled with the aim of Dawes (Bath), Rebecca Hoyle (Surrey), Paul • Radek Honzik(Charles University, Prague) Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of research collaboration and informal interac- Matthews (Nottingham) and Alastair Rucklidge • Vera Fischer (Kurt Gödel Research Center, Ireland. This year the colloquium will be held tions. Invited are speakers: (Leeds). Vienna) in the School of Mathematics at the Univer- • R. Archbold (Aberdeen) • Mirna Dzamonja (University of East Anglia) sity of Birmingham, from the 30 June to 2 July • M. Daws (Leeds) PROJECTION AND • David Aspero (University of East Anglia) 2014. The Colloquium aims to encourage links • Y.-F. Lin (Belfast) • David Schrittesser (University of between general topologists and dynamicists • J. Ludwig (Metz) SLICING THEOREMS IN Copenhagen) in the UK, Ireland and the rest of the world. • M. Neufang (Lille/Ottawa) FRACTAL GEOMETRY • Ralf-Dieter Schindler (University of Münster) Graduate students are particularly encouraged • N. Ozawa (Kyoto) • Andrew Brooke-Taylor (University of Bristol) to attend. We hope that the relaxed, informal • V.I. Paulsen (Houston) A two day meeting on Projection and Slicing • Peter Holy (University of Bristol) atmosphere will generate discussion of • Z.-J. Ruan (Urbana) Theorems in Fractal Geometry will take place There is a £10 registration fee. Some funding research and provide greater awareness of the • V.S. Shulman (Vologda) at the University of Bristol from 17 to 18 July is available to contribute to the travel expenses different areas of study in the UK and Ireland. • N. Spronk (Waterloo) 2014. The meeting is to mark 60 years since of research students. For more information, The three day programme consists of 20 or The workshop is open to everyone interest- Professor John Marstrands seminal papers on including how to register, see the meeting 50 minute talks given by participants, together ed. If you wish to give a talk at the meeting the subject Some fundamental geometrical website http://tinyurl.com/kqt5x4e, or contact with ample time for discussion. Speakers may contact one of the organisers: Ivan Todorov properties of plane sets of fractional dimen- the organiser, Peter Holy by email (maxph@ present new results, discuss recent progress on ([email protected]) or Lyudmila Turowska sions and The dimension of Cartesian product bristol.ac.uk). The meeting is supported by an open problems, or give expository lectures on ([email protected]). Financial support is sets. The speakers will be: LMS Conference grant, and by the EPSRC. LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

REPRESENTATIONS OF • Sinéad Lyle (University of East Anglia) • Ivan Marin (Université de Picardie Jules HECKE ALGEBRAS Verne) A workshop on Representations of Symmetric • Vanessa Miemietz (University of East Groups, Hecke Algebras and KLR Algebras Anglia) will take place at the University of Birming- • Mark Wildon (Royal Holloway, University ham from 14 to 16 July 2014. The workshop of London) INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO will focus on a variety of topics in represen- There will be a registration fee of up to £15 tation theory of symmetric groups and Hecke (research students are exempt). Some funds UNDERSTANDING MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES algebras, including the recent spectacular de- are available to contribute to travel and ac- 10 – 12 September 2014 velopments associated with Khovanov–Lauda– commodation expenses of research students. Rouquier algebras. The speakers include: For further information, including the reg- in association with the Newton Institute programme • Christine Bessenrodt (Leibniz Universität istration procedure and deadlines, visit the Understanding Microbial Communities; Function, Structure and Hannover) workshop website http://web.mat.bham. Dynamics • Joseph Chuang (City University London) ac.uk/A.Evseev/workshop/. The workshop is (11 August – 19 December 2014) • Matthew Fayers (Queen Mary University of supported by an LMS Conference grant and London) the Anglo-Franco-German Representation • Nicolas Jacon (Université de Reims Theory Network. The organizers are David Workshop organisers: Rosalind Allen (Edinburgh), Thomas Curtis Champagne-Ardenne) Craven ([email protected]) and Anton (Newcastle), Thomas Pfeiffer (Massey), William Sloan (Glasgow), Orkun • Alexander Kleshchev (University of Oregon) Evseev ([email protected]). Soyer (Warwick) and Carsten Wiuf (Copenhagen). 26 Background: Microbial communities constitute a new frontier of biologi- 27 cal enquiry. They present fundamental scientific questions and challenges in relation to complex dynamical systems, ecological and evolution- SUMMER SCHOOL ON WATER WAVES ary trade-offs, and synthetic (re)engineering of microbial communities. Answering these scientific questions will only be possible by applica- 6 – 8 August 2014 tion of interdisciplinary approaches combining empirical and theoreti- in association with the Newton Institute programme cal methods. At the same time, the study of microbial communities can Theory of Water Waves result in the development of new theories and approaches. (14 July – 8 August 2014) Aim: This workshop aims to bring together empirical and theoretical sci- Workshop organiser: Tom Bridges (Surrey). entists to discuss open problems and potentials in the study of microbial communities. Key note speakers will include world-leading experts from Background: The mathematical modelling and analysis of water waves poses rich chal- diverse areas such as systems biology, mathematics, microbial ecology lenges. The governing equations for water waves are a widely accepted model and they have been the subject of research for over 150 years. However, the equations are and genetics, and will facilitate discussions among participants. The highly nonlinear and the level of difficulty is so great that theory has yet to scratch workshop will take place at the Isaac Newton Institute, Cambridge, UK, the surface of the subject. The solutions to the equations that describe fluid motion as part of a larger research programme on the study of function and are elusive and whether they even exist in the most general case is one of the most structure of microbial communities. difficult unanswered questions in mathematics. This summer school will introduce the beginning researcher to a range of mathemati- Closing date of the receipt of applications is 20 July 2014. cal issues in the theory of water waves, including the initial value problem, singularities, shallow water hydrodynamics, numerics, mapping techniques, variational princi- Further information and application forms are ples, effect of topography and modulation. available from the website at: Closing date of the receipt of applications is 15 June 2014. www.newton.ac.uk/programmes/UMC/umcw01 Further information and application forms are available from the website at www.newton.ac.uk/programmes/TWW/twww04.shtml LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

MEMBERS’ OPINIONS ...... have your say be amused by the accusation that mathemati- credulity. They cannot entertain, as they should, All opinions submitted to this section are strictly those of the contributor and do not necessarily cians there have little idea how their work will the alternative proposition that there is no represent the views of the London Mathematical Society. If you would like to respond to any of be used. The capabilities being provided by all wrongdoing to find. the opinions published below, or have a separate contribution which you would like published on the work I knew about were very clear to all I hope mathematicians thinking of working matters relevant to mathematics please contact [email protected]. Items are accepted at the concerned. Access to specific intelligence gained for GCHQ will not be deterred by Leinster's discretion of the Editor and subject to available space in any given edition. thereby was limited by ‘need to know’; never- rhetoric, but, in trying to discern how they see theless, GCHQ took pains to tell all security- the balance between reasonable intelligence SHOULD MATHEMATICIANS COOPERATE WITH GCHQ? cleared staff as much as possible about what gathering and oppressive measures, will be Answering Dr Leinster's letter about GCHQ have been criticism of intelligence agency successes it had had. swayed by those who have worked for GCHQ (April LMS Newsletter) presents several dif- failures (as indeed there were, to some extent, As for the independent scrutiny of GCHQ, and have come away, like me, reassured by ficulties. Detailed responses to polemics with in 7/7). A recent radio program said that some those convinced of GCHQ's wrongdoing see the what they found. multiple contentious statements always seem of the people best at hiding themselves on the absence of criticism from the oversight agencies Malcolm MacCallum weaker and less convincing than the polemic internet are paedophile rings. as evidence of those agencies' weakness or Queen Mary, University of London itself, partly because they are much longer and The powers allowed to intelligence agencies more nuanced. have to enable them to investigate such matters A second difficulty is that allegations about while protecting privacy. Leinster does not OBITUARY moving to Manchester, Sandy got interested GCHQ's activities are necessarily not going to be address this difficult balance, which I see as the in representation theory. In 1955 he published confirmed or denied. Either would be helpful fundamental issue. Meaningful public debate JAMES ALEXANDER (SANDY) GREEN his paper The characters of the finite general to hostile nation states, terrorists or criminals. will be difficult for reasons already cited. Professor James linear groups. This was completely unexpected A completely open debate is thus impossible, Although I cannot comment on the allega- Alexander Green, in view of the very incomplete information unless one takes the extreme view that all in- tions about GCHQ's actions, let me respond to FRS, FRSE, who was available prior to his work. Sandy then turned 28 telligence agency work should be public (which some of Leinster's other points. elected a member of to representations of finite groups over fields of 29 logically would have meant telling the Germans The unwary reader may think Leinster's the London Math- prime characteristic and proved many important in WWII that Bletchley had broken their codes). statement that GCHQ is ‘accused of law-break- ematical Society on results. In particular he introduced new invari- Public debate about the balance between pro- ing on an industrial scale’ means that its staff 19 June 1958, died ants, vertices and sources of indecomposable tecting people from crime and terrorism and intentionally break the law. In fact it refers to on 7 April 2014, representations, and developed a fundamental potential invasion of privacy is also handicapped a legal opinion of a possible conflict between aged 88. correspondence for representations of a group by the lack of trust in those who do have access the acts governing GCHQ's work, and their ap- Karin Erdmann writes: J.A. Green, known with representations of its p-local subgroups. to what really happens, i.e. public servants and plication, and human rights legislation. This as Sandy, did his undergraduate studies at St This ‘Green correspondence’ has become one of ministers. As the former Director of GCHQ's has not, as far as I know, been tested in court, Andrews, but interrupted in the middle by work the most important tools of the area. Heilbronn Institute, I fully agree with Richard and certainly does not justify any imputation of at Bletchley Park. Sandy moved to Cambridge The monograph Polynomial Representations

Pinch (May LMS Newsletter) that Leinster's deliberate law-breaking. The quoted opinion for his graduate work, supervised by D.E. Lit- GLn, published in 1980, introduces what Sandy picture of GCHQ is not one I recognize, and with is presumably not shared by the many lawyers tlewood, Philip Hall and David Rees. From 1950 called ‘Schur algebras’. Around this time highest the Director's claim that many staff would leave involved in framing and applying the laws to 1963 he held a teaching position at the Uni- weight modules became objects of central if asked to snoop on the general public. But will concerned, and I understand that GCHQ and its versity of Manchester, and then a readership at interest in algebraic Lie theory. These can be we be believed? oversight bodies have obtained substantial and the University of Sussex for two years. From 1965 studied via finite dimensional algebras; and I see GCHQ's work as stopping innocent independent contrary legal opinions. until his retirement in 1991 he was a Professor at Schur algebras are prototypes for such algebras. people being killed and putting guilty people Having been a political radical in the 1960s, the University of Warwick. After that he moved More recently, Sandy was involved in the de- in gaol. For example, the gang behind a close convinced at that time that our group was under to Oxford, and became an associate member of velopment of the classical Hall algebra theory. In family member (and 25 others) being carjacked surveillance, I approached my time at GCHQ the Department, and had MA status in the Uni- his 1995 paper, he constructed a comultiplication at knifepoint were convicted partly on mobile with caution. I was pleasantly surprised that versity. Until last summer he regularly came to on the Hall algebra of a finite directed quiver, phone billing evidence. Deaths at 9/11 and 7/7 my first substantial briefing session was on the the Department for seminars, or to discuss math- and showed that this can be used to show that were narrowly avoided by, respectively, another legal framework, including human rights laws, ematics. Throughout his career, Sandy had a lot the Hall algebra is isomorphic to the positive close family member and a graduate student's within which GCHQ operates. The need for legal of serious health problems, but thanks to the part of the corresponding quantum group. partner, so I was pleased to hear, in the public authorization of any action which could not be care and support of his wife, Margaret, and his Sandy was awarded the Senior Berwick Prize session Richard Pinch's response refers to, that equally undertaken by any citizen was repeat- family, Sandy was able to continue his research. in 1984 and the De Morgan Medal in 2001. He 34 terrorist plots had been thwarted in recent edly referred to during my time there. I have no In his PhD thesis, Sandy worked on semi- was elected to a Fellow of the Royal Society of years by the intelligence agencies. Had deaths doubt it was carefully adhered to. groups. He introduced fundamental relations, Edinburgh in 1968, and to a Fellow of the Royal resulted from those plots there would no doubt Both GCHQ and its mathematics staff will now known as ‘Green’s relations’. Soon after Society of London in 1987. LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

REVIEWS something which is only very vaguely related to welcome. However, one disclaimer is in order: MOEBIUS NOODLES: ADVENTUROUS MATH FOR THE PLAYGROUND CROWD the contents of the book. the style of teaching described in this book is The authors’ enthusiasm is contagious. a valuable addition to the systematic study of Delta Stream Media, 2013, 90 pp, $15 pb, ISBN 978-0-9776939-5-5. The book may be recommended to parents, mathematics provided by regular school but This nice little book is composed by more than this “adventurous math” journey, etc. educators and all people who are in frequent should not in any way be considered as its re- 100 authors. Moebius noodles is an internet Sometimes, the authors’ enthusiasm makes contact with young children. Another project of placement. community of enthusiastic parents and teachers them exceedingly optimistic. They say, “In the Moebius Noodles community is apparently Alexander Zvonkin who are involved in various mathematical activi- general, the answer to ‘Can young children un- under way, and it should be met with a hearty University of Bordeaux, France ties with very young, mainly preschool children. derstand the concept of… ?’ is always ‘Yes!’”, The keyword in the above sentence is enthusi- and go on: “But seriously, can you teach any THE BEST WRITING ON MATHEMATICS 2013 astic, the proof of which is the number of excla- concept at any age?” Apparently, their answer edited by Mircea Pitici, foreword by Roger Penrose, Princeton University Press, 2014, pp 272, mation marks scattered all over the text. More is once again yes. This conviction, if we consider £14.95, $21.95, ISBN 978-0-691-16041-2. important, it also shows in the exuberant fantasy it as a purely scientific statement in the realm of in inventing all sorts of games and activities developmental psychology, is certainly wrong. The list of titles of introduction, no major topics from mathemati- which confront a child But such ideas should the essays reprinted cal physics get an outing, which I suppose may with various mathemat- not be judged only as in this volume would be a random event or an indication of fashion, ical ideas. The authors right or wrong. In the be almost enough to or even intellectual drift, in mathematics as a find ways to introduce first place, this idea is persuade many people whole. Three essays illuminate topics that make these ideas everywhere: productive. This means that they will enjoy mathematics fun and useful at the same time: in a classroom but also that it is not so much reading it, and indeed Ian Stewart on patterns in animals, Renan Gross at home, on the play- a statement as it is a that they could profit- on Bézier curves, and Daniel Silver on ‘Slicing a 30 ground, in the kitchen, challenge, an appeal ably put it in front of cone for art and science’, with its investigation 31 etc. to dare, to go ahead anyone who wants of why Albrecht Dürer thought that an ellipse Four main topics without fear and try to to know what math- was egg-shaped. At the other extreme, but no discussed in the book invent new activities, ematics is about. It’s less accessibly, Kevin Hartnett brings us up-to- are symmetry, numbers, new games and circum- a partial and selective date on the abc conjecture and the uncertain functions, and classi- stances which could picture, of course, but it’s fresh, varied, and state of play with Shinichi Mochizuki’s proposed fication. For example, eventually acquaint as its title might suggest, well written. Some proof. the activities concern- your child with the of the authors are provocative: Philip Davis Mathematics will always have a problem ex- ing symmetry are paper concept you have in on ‘The prospects for mathematics in a multi- plaining its deepest results to a wide audience, cutting, games with mind. And, indeed, it media civilisation’ offers a wide-ranging per- and with illustrating its great range and variety mirrors, observing makes no harm to try, if spective on mathematics in the coming era of without looking trivial at times. What these symmetry in nature, only you do not create a ubiquitous computing. Some are surprising: essays demonstrate is that mathematicians performing dances frustration and a feeling Kelly Delp finds orbifolds in high fashion, David have a lot to say about many different things, with children mirroring one another, and of helplessness in your child, and the authors of Lloyd suggests that the Platonic solids may have and we should not agonise too much about it. even baking symmetric cookies and trying to this book are certainly not of the kind to do so. been known in Neolithic times (well before We should instead, have confidence in what we eat them in a way preserving their symmetry. Their objective is not as much teaching math- Plato). Several reflect on the life of the math- do, and when possible go out and talk about Certain topics are rather advanced: for example, ematics as teaching to be curious. ematics student: Anna Sfard writes on why we it. Even the pictures in this book tell interest- more than once the authors speak about The only reproach I can make to this book should learn mathematics and Erin Maloney ing stories: a map of a solution to the travelling fractals. Sometimes, their imagination strikes concerns its graphical design. There is a wealth and Sian Beilock on math anxiety; Frank Quinn salesman problem in Sweden, several artistic even a reader well prepared to extravagant of pictures in the book, they are funny and on how mathematics changed into its modern responses to the Jordan curve theorem, bond mathematical ideas. Just imagine that every maybe attractive, but they do not illustrate form a century ago and why that matters today. percolation at the critical threshold on a square finger on you hand has a little hand at its end! the text, and even when they do, it is not that Terence Tao writes on the intriguing fact that lattice, the Jerusalem chords bridge. How re- This is the first step in constructing a fractal, easy to guess how the picture is related to the large complex systems can obey universal laws, markable it is that mathematics has good things your hand being a starting point. (As you can subject matter. The book is rich with scientific and on the crossover from statistical mechanics to say about all of these – and how satisfying it see, I wasn’t able to refrain from an exclamation ideas which are in no way common knowledge; to random matrices and recent work on the is that we have in this book good guides to all mark either.) Beside a mathematical knowledge the text is often extremely succinct. A well Riemann hypothesis. In fact, a number of of them and more. as such, the book describes diverse manipula- thought illustration might be of a great help probabilistic and statistical themes are aired in Jeremy Gray tives, gives advice to parents ready to embark in in understanding this material. Instead, we see this book, and, as Roger Penrose notes in his Open University LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

THE SIMPSONS AND THEIR MATHEMATICAL SECRETS CODEBREAKER: A LIFE IN MUSIC Simon Singh, Bloomsbury, 2013, 253 pp, £12.72, ISBN 978-1-4088-35302. by James McCarthy From Homer Simpson’s blackboard: of Sophie Germain who, when she was telling Over the past few years, there's been a lot more point the chorus sing, "I propose to consider the 398712 + 436512 = 447212. of her discoveries in number theory to Lagrange about mathematics and mathematicians in the question 'Can machines think'," but this is imme- So Andrew Wiles was and Gauss, changed her name to Mr. Leblanc. theatre than there used to be. So I wasn't as diately followed by a recording of Chamberlain's mistaken! If you get Both these mathematicians were pleased when surprised as I might have been to hear there was famous announcement of the beginning of the out your calculator and they found out that their correspondent was going to be a performance of a new work called War. if it works to less than a woman. Throughout this book Singh, when Codebreaker and that it was about Alan Turing. The text includes quotations from Turing's 10 significant figures telling of some of the Maths in the Simpsons will It had been composed by James McCarthy for mother, sung by the soprano Naomi Harvey, and a then you will find that follow it up with a commentary on the actual the Hertfordshire Chorus and was being given its few lines from Turing himself. McCarthy explained this equation is true. maths involved, usually explained in an elemen- world premiere on 26 April 2014 at the Barbican in his introduction that he had decided to concen- (Compute the twelfth tary way. Among these topics are prime numbers, with the Hertfordshire Chorus and the London trate on three aspects of Turing's life: his friend- root of the LHS.) Only perfect numbers, topology, higher dimensional Orchestra da Camera conducted by David Temple. ship with his schoolmate Christopher Morcom, his a more accurate com- geometry, P v NP, countability. The number pi Before the concert began, Temple and McCarthy work on breaking the German naval code, and putation shows this occurs as the basis of two chapters, the second discussed the origin of the work. We learned that his death. Instead of describing these explicitly, he equation to be false. being called "another slice of pi". In the first one when Temple first thought of commissioning it chose poems to capture the spirit: Wilfrid Owen This is one of many curious facts that you will he tells of Archimedes’ polygon method of ap- he had very little idea who Turing was. For the on love, Sara Teasdale on the dangers of the sea, find in this book. Of course, as a lot of this book proximating pi and in the second he gives some benefit of those in the audience who also didn't Edward Thomas and Robert Burns on death. And is written for Simpsons’ fans, much of the math- well-known infinite series involving pi. know, James Grime provided a short account of Oscar Wilde's De Profundis as well. ematics is very well known to most mathemati- My favourite bit of mathematical quirkiness in the work on the Enigma code. I enjoyed the performance and it was certainly cians, but certainly not all of it. this book regards taxicab numbers. Every math- Codebreaker is about the tragedy of Turing's warmly received by the audience, so I expect it 32 Singh points out that many of the writers of ematician knows the story of Hardy visiting death, not about him as a mathematician. There will take its place in the repertoire 33 the Simpsons have advanced degrees in math- Ramanujan in Hospital and telling him that the is nothing representing mathematics in the Peter Saunders ematically related disciplines with degrees from number of the taxi was 1729, not an interesting music, or if there is, it went over my head. At one King’s College London Harvard, Princeton or Berkeley, so they often number, Ramanujan replies "Indeed it is, as it is

introduce Maths or Science into their scripts. For the smallest integer that is the sum of two cubes example, in one episode which takes place at a in two different ways." Another cartoon written baseball game the spectators are asked to guess by the writers of the Simpsons is Futurama which the number of people attending. It is presented as is also discussed. In it someone gets into a taxi A Guide Optimal a multiple choice question. The possible numbers whose number is 87539319. This (apparently) is to MATLAB Transportation are 8191, 8128 and 8208. All of these are arithmet- the smallest number that can be written as the For Beginners and Theory and Applications ically interesting; 8191 is a Mersenne prime, 8128 sum of two cubes in three different ways! (1673 Experienced Users Hervé Pajot, 3 3 3 3 3 is a perfect number and 8028 is a so-called narcis- + 436 = 228 + 423 = 255 + 414 ) An obscure 3rd Edition Université de Grenoble sistic number. (I will let you google this to find the joke that no one, even the most ardent number Brian R. Hunt, Yann Ollivier, definition, but here I just point out that 8208 = 84 theorist, would get. University of Maryland, College Park Université de Paris XI + 24 + 04 + 84.) Now the author has a good excuse What of all these mathematical references? Ronald L. Lipsman, Cedric Villani, University of Maryland, College Park Université de Paris VI (Pierre et Marie Curie) to explain to the readers about Mersenne primes Singh says dismissing them would insult the Jonathan M. Rosenberg, 1 Contains short courses which give and perfect numbers. He explains that they are writers who are "the most mathematically gifted University of Maryland, College Park an accessible introduction to problems of current interest, and research papers related but doesn’t tell us how. writing teams in the history of television”. With 1 Fully updated edition covering all which present modern developments The most mathematically talented of the the majority of contemporary media dumbed of the new features of MATLAB 8 1 The book presents both the theory of optimal 1 Focuses first on the essentials, then develops Simpsons is Lisa, Homer’s daughter. In the episode down to the lowest common denominator, it is transport and some of its many applications “Girls just want to have sums” Lisa is frustrated, laudable that there are deep and complex ideas finer points through numerous examples 1 Suitable for novices, occasional users and experienced 1 Of interest to researchers in pure and applied mathematics, because being a girl, she is not taught proper both hidden and apparent in The Simpsons. users wishing to update their skills physics, computer science and economics

maths. She disguises herself as a boy and attends So a really fun book, which would make an London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series, No. 413 a real maths class in the boys’ school. At the end ideal present for a mathematician to buy for their Paperback | 9781107662223 | July 2014 | £35.00 Paperback | 9781107689497 | July 2014 | £40.00 of the course she is awarded the maths prize and children or indeed any friend with an interest in www.cambridge.org/GuideMATLAB www.cambridge.org/lms413 then reveals reveals her true identity. "That’s right comedy. everyone! The best math student in the whole David Singerman (University of Southampton) www.cambridge.org school is a girl! Singh uses this to tell the real story Daniel Singerman (Reason Factory Ltd.) LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 437 June 2014

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 24–27 Postgraduate Group Theory Confer- 14–16 Bianchi and Siegel Modular Forms, 3–5 Jordan Geometric Analysis and Applica- This calendar lists Society meetings and oth- ence, Birmingham (346) Sheffield (437) tions, Queen Mary, University of London er mathematical events. Further informa- 25 Famous Physicists and Mathematicians 17–18 Projection and Slicing Theorems in (432) tion may be obtained from the appropriate from Belfast, Queen's University Belfast Fractal Geometry, Bristol (437) 3–5 Operator Theory Workshop, Queen’s LMS Newsletter whose number is given in (437) 21–24 Kent Algebra Days Young Research- University, Belfast (435) brackets. A fuller list is given on the Soci- 27 Non-Western Mathematics, Oxford (437) ers, University of Kent (437) 5–6 Caucasian Mathematical Conference ety’s website (www.lms.ac.uk/content/calen- 23–25 ISSAC 2014 Kobe University, Japan Tbilisi, Georgia dar). Please send updates and corrections to 29–5 Jul Category Theory 2014 Meeting, 28–1 Aug Mathematical Relativity, ESI-EMS- 6 Mathematics and the First World War, [email protected]. Cambridge (436) 30–2 Jul Galway Topology Colloquium, IAMP Summer School, Vienna LMS Meeting, London (435) JUNE 2014 Birmingham (437) 29–4 Aug International Mathematics 10–12 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Competition for University Students, Blago- Understanding Microbial Communities INI 2–3 Mathematics of String Theory (MOST) 30–2 Jul Filtering High Dimensional Com- evgrad, Bulgaria (435) Workshop, Cambridge (437) Workshop, King's College London (436) plex Systems Meeting, Warwick (436) 28–1 Aug Contact Geometry in Dimension 18 Additive Combinatorics Meeting, Bristol 3 PANDA, Bath (437) 30-3 Jul Young Researchers in Mathematics Three and Higher Workshop, University Col- (437) 5 Combinatrics in Oxford, Oxford (436) Conference, Warwick (436) lege London (437) 18 Recent Advances in Orthogonal Polyno- 5 Belfast Harmonic Analysis Day, Queen's 30–4 Jul Groups, Numbers, and Dynamics mials and its Interactions with Integrable University Belfast (435) INI Workshop, Cambridge (436) Systems Meeting, University of Kent (437) 5 Rings of Differential and Integral Opera- 30–4 Jul First Joint International Meeting August 2014 22–26 Bounded Gaps Between Primes, tors Meeting, Plymouth (436) RSME-SCM-SEMA-SIMAI-UMI, Bilbao 4–8 Principles and Applications of Control LMS–CMI Research School, Oxford (437) 12-18 Curves and Surfaces Conference, Paris to Quantum Systems INI Workshop, Cam- 30–5 Jul Building Bridges, LMS–CMI Re- 24 LMS Popular Lectures, Birmingham (437) 34 13 Mathematical Modelling of Biologi- bridge (436) 35 search School, Bristol (434) 28–2 Oct Advances in Probability Clay cal and Cultural Evolution, City University 6–8 Water Waves INI Summer School, Cam- Research Workshop, Oxford (436) London (436) bridge (437) JULY 2014 29–3 Oct Analytic Number Theory Clay 16 Midlands Regional Meeting, 12 & 14 International Congress for Women 3–4 Higher Structures in Number Theory Research Workshop, Oxford (436) Loughborough (437) in Mathematics 2014, Seoul, Republic of Workshop, Nottingham (436) 29–3 Oct Functional Transcendence around 16–20 Interactions between Dynamical Korea (433) 4 Hardy Lecture, LMS Meeting, Ax–Schanuel Clay Research Workshop, Systems and PDEs, EMS Summer School, 13–21 ICM 2014, Seoul, Republic of Korea London Oxford (436) Barcelona (437) 4 LMS Graduate Student Meeting, 29–3 Oct Symplectic Topology Clay Re- 16 Scattering Theory and Wave Equations 17–19 Mathematical Cultures Conference, London search Workshop, Oxford (436) Workshop, Loughborough (435) De Morgan House, London (417) 21–22 Counting and Calculation - A Journey 5–10 Activities on Symmetries and Corre- spondences Conference, Oxford (436) 18–21 Operator Methods in Harmonic october 2014 through Practical Mathematics, Rewley Analysis Workshop, Queen's University House, Oxford (437) 6–7 Set Theory: Inner and Outer Model 1 Clay Research Conference, Oxford (436) Belfast (437) 23–24 Emergent Dynamics of Complex Theory Meeting, Bristol (437) 20 History of Statistics, BSHM–Gresham Col- 19 LMS Meeting and Reception, ICM, Seoul, Biological Networks, Exeter (437) 7–11 Symmetries in Graphs, Maps and Poly- lege Joint Meeting, London Republic of Korea (437) 23–27 European Women in Mathematics topes Workshop, ELIM Conference Centre, 25–29 Algebraic Lie Theory and Represen- 6th Summer School, Institute Mittag-Leffler, West Malvern (436) november 2014 tation Theory, LMS–CMI Research School, Sweden 7–11 An Invitation to Geometry & Topology 14 LMS AGM, London Glasgow (435) 23–27 Random Interacting Systems School Via G2, LMS–CMI Research School, Imperial 28–30 15th International Pure and Workshop, Bath (436) College London (436) mARCH 2015 Mathematics Conference, Islamabad 23–27 Free Boundary Problems: Theory and 9 LMS Popular Lectures, London (437) 30–2 Apr Joint Meeting of the BMC and Applications INI Conference, Cambridge 13–15 Modelling in Industrial Maintenance BAMC, Cambridge (436) (436) and Reliability IMA Conference, Oxford September 2014 23–28 Centralized and Distributed Multi- 14–16 Representations of Symmetric 1 Function Theory Meeting, London July 2015 agent Optimization: Models and Algo- Groups, Hecke Algebras and KLR Algebras, 3–5 Stable Homotopy Theory Conference, 13–17 Conference on Stochastic Processes rithms, CIME-EMS Summer School, Cetraro Birmingham (437) Manchester (437) and their Applications, Oxford LMS-FUNDED MEETINGS

Integrable Models, Conformal Field Theory and Related Topics held at the University of Glasgow from 11 to 12 April 2014 (report on page 18)

Poster session

Invited speakers: Vincent Pasquier (CEA Saclay) Niall MacKay (York), Charles Young (Hertfordshire) and Olaf Lechtenfeld (Leibniz) and Vidas Regelskis (Surrey)

Kent Spectral Theory Meeting held at the University of Kent from 14 to 17 April 2014 (report on page 15)