NEWSLETTER No. 461 September 2016

COUNCIL FOR THE MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES EU REFERENDUM STATEMENT

ollowing the results of the UK Referendum • Currently all EU arrangements remain in force Fon membership of the EU, the Council for the as the UK has not yet left the EU and current Mathematical Sciences (CMS) takes the following arrangements are being kept in place during view: any transition phase eg access to student loans • The focus will remain on collaboration in the for EU students will continue for those in mathematical sciences as currently exists. receipt of such loans and for those currently • All academic/research/professional mathemati- applying for a loan. cal societies will continue to work with their • Whatever the final arrangements, the aim will counterparts in other countries as closely be to sustain collaboration in the mathemati- and respectfully as possible, regardless of the cal sciences with EU and international partners political arrangements in place. on an equally open and reciprocal basis.

LMS HONORARY MEMBERS 2016

LMS Honorary Members for 2016: Professor Idun Reiten and Professor Maxim Kontsevich; see text on page 3

SOCIETY MEETINGS AND EVENTS

• 15 September: Midlands Regional Meeting, • 11 November: Graduate Student Meeting, London Birmingham page 7 • 11 November: Annual General Meeting, London • 21 September: Popular Lectures, Birmingham page 28 • 20 December: SW & South Wales Regional Meeting, Bath • 27 October: Joint Meeting with the RSS and • 24 February 2017: Mary Cartwright Lecture, London Fisher Memorial Trust, London page 9 • 3–7 April 2017: LMS Society Meeting at BMC, Surrey

NEWSLETTER ONLINE: newsletter.lms.ac.uk @LondMathSoc LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

Contents No. 461 September 2016

20 22

Awards News Cecil King Travel Scholarship 2016...... 17 Australian Mathematical Society...... 36 EMS Prizes 2016...... 16 BSHM News...... 25 LMS Undergraduate Research Council for the Mathematical Sciences 2 Bursaries 2016...... 14 EU Referendum statement...... 1 Simon Donaldson Awarded European News...... 24 Honoris Causa...... 3 Geoffrey Shephard...... 26 Stephen Smale Prize...... 16 Mathematics Policy Round-Up...... 22 Mathematics Remains Top A-Level Calendar of Events 46 Subject...... 18 LMS Items New Gresham College Professor...... 17 Annual Subscription 2016-17...... 4 Parliamentary Links Day 2016...... 20 Council Diary...... 10 Sublime Symmetry...... 18 Elections 2016...... 6 Records of Proceedings Honorary Members 2016...... 1 Northern Regional Meeting...... 31 Open House 2016...... 10 Undergraduates, PGs & ECRs News...... 12 Reports LMS Meetings 7ECM Panel Session...... 27 BCS-FACS Evening Seminar...... 8 DMV and the LMS informal meeting...... 26 Joint Meeting with the RSS IMI Undergraduate Research and Fisher Memorial Trust...... 9 Internship Programme...... 34 Midlands Regional Meeting LMS Hardy Lecturer Jacob Lurie and Workshop...... 7 at the University of Leicester...... 33 Popular Lectures...... 28 Northern Regional Meeting...... 30 Prospects in Mathematics Meeting...... 11 Popular Lectures 2016...... 29 Scottish Partial Differential Meetings Equations Colloquium...... 32 Directions in Computability Theory...... 38 Mathematics in the Regions and Nations...37 Reviews Maths Fest 2016...... 37 Letters to the Editor...... 43 One Day Function Theory Meeting...... 38 Mathematical Mindsets...... 41 Random Matrix Theory Brunel–Bielefeld Mathematics in Ancient Egypt...... 40 Workshop...... 35 Visits Sheffield Probability Day...... 37 Smolyanov, Oleg...... 39 Structure of Operator Algebras INI...... 39 Velcic, Igor...... 39 [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

LMS HONORARY MEMBERS 2016 (continued from page 1)

The London Mathematical Society has a large part of the language and context elected Professor Idun Reiten, of the for current work in this field. Norwegian University of Science and Tech- The LMS has also elected Professor Maxim nology (NTNU) in Trondheim, to Honorary Kontsevich, of the Institut des Hautes Membership of the Society. Professor Reiten Études Scientifiques, to Honorary Member- is a world-leading mathematician whose ship of the Society. Professor Kontsevich work has revolutionized the representation has made fundamental contributions to theory of finite dimensional algebras. The many areas of mathematics, primarily in fundamental notions she has introduced, geometry and topology using ideas from and important results she has proved, form theoretical and mathematical physics.

SIMON DONALDSON AWARDED DOCTOR HONORIS CAUSA

Professor Sir Simon Kirwan Donaldson FRS, permanent member of the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics at Stony Brook University 3 (US) and Professor in Pure Mathematics at Imperial College London (United Kingdom), will be awarded the honorary degree Doctor Honoris Causa by Uni- versidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain). The ceremony will take place on 20 January 2017 at 12:00 in the Aula Miguel de Guzmán of the Faculty of Mathematics of Universidad Complutense de Madrid. There will also be a Colloquium on 19 January 2017 at 13:00 at the Faculty of Mathematics. For further information visit the website at www.ucm.es/geometria_topologia or contact Vicente Muñoz ([email protected]).

Editorial team Publication dates and deadlines http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

Editorial office General Editor Published monthly, except August. Items and adver- London Mathematical Society, Mr A.J.S. Mann tisements by the first day of the month prior to publi- De Morgan House, 57–58 Russell ([email protected]) cation, or the closest preceding working day. Notices Square, London WC1B 4HS and advertisements are not accepted for events that Reports Editor occur in the first week of the publication month. (t: 020 7637 3686; Professor I. A. Stewart f: 020 7323 3655) ([email protected]) News items and notices in the Newsletter may be freely used elsewhere unless otherwise stated, al- Events calendar Reviews Editor though attribution is requested when reproducing Updates and corrections to Professor D. Singerman whole articles. Contributions to the Newsletter are [email protected] ([email protected]) made under a non-exclusive licence; please contact Articles Administrative Editor the author or photographer for the rights to repro- Send articles to S.M. Oakes duce. The LMS cannot accept responsibility for the [email protected] ([email protected]) accuracy of information in the Newsletter. Views expressed do not necessarily represent the views or Advertising Typeset by the LMS at De policy of the London Mathematical Society. For rates and guidelines see Morgan House; printed by newsletter.lms.ac.uk/rate-card Holbrooks Printers Ltd. Charity registration number: 252660. LMS Items

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

ANNUAL LMS SUBSCRIPTION 2016-17

Members are reminded that their annual subscription, including payment for publications, for the period November 2016 - October 2017 is due on 1 November 2016 and payment should be received by 1 December 2016.

Membership subscription rates The annual subscription to the London Mathematical Society for 2016-17 is:

Ordinary membership £75.00 US$150.00

Concessions on Ordinary membership:

Reciprocity £37.50 US$75.00

Career break or part-time £18.75 US$37.50 working

Associate membership £18.75 US$37.50

Please note that only members who were elected at a Society Meeting in 2015 and who have set up a direct debit to pay their subscription fees will be entitled to a 50% discount on the 4 above prices (excluding concessionary membership). LMS journal prices The prices of the Society’s periodicals for 2017 are: :

Online only Print & online

Bulletin Free £86.00

Journal Free £424.00

Proceedings Free £424.00

Nonlinearity Free

We would like to draw members’ attention provide the Society with an up-to-date to the following changes regarding the email address as the email address will Society’s journals: be passed to: 1. The Society now offers free online i. Wiley for subscriptions to the Bulletin, access to the Bulletin, Journal and Pro- Journal and Proceedings of the ceedings of the London Mathematical London Mathematical Society Society and to Nonlinearity for personal ii. Institute of Physics for subscriptions use only. To receive free electronic to Nonlinearity. access for personal use, please note The relevant publisher will then contact this on your subscription form when members with further details about returning it to the Membership Depart- their subscription. ment. 3. Council has agreed the Society will no 2. Please note that for online journal sub- longer offer the “Print & online” option scriptions it is essential that members for Nonlinearity from 1 January 2017. [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

Subscription rates for the European Mathematical Society and Journal of the European Mathematical Society via the LMS Members also have the option to pay their European Mathematical Society subscription via the LMS and subscribe to the Journal of the EMS:

EMS Subscription (via the LMS) £22.00 US$44.00

JEMS Subscription (via the LMS) £120.00 US$240.00

Renewal and payment to download Guidance on Setting Up a Members can now renew and pay for Direct Debit (Current Direct Debit Payers): their Society membership online via the www.lms.ac.uk/membership/paying-your- Society’s website: http://lms.ac.uk/user subscription for further information on Members can now log on to their LMS making changes or setting up a direct user account and make changes to their debit online with GoCardless.com contact details and journal subscriptions. Please note members may not change Payment by credit/debit card their membership type e.g. from Ordinary The Society now accepts payment by credit/ to Reciprocity without first contacting the debit card online via its website only. Membership Department (membership@ Please note the Society no longer accepts lms.ac.uk; 020 7927 0807; 020 7291 9973). card payments by telephone. A subscription form will be sent by email 5 or post to all members for reference and/or Payment by cheque to complete and return with payment. If The Society also accepts payment by you do not receive your subscription form cheque either in GBP or US$. by 30 September 2016, please contact the Please note that subscriptions become Membership Department (membership@ due on 1 November 2016 and payment lms.ac.uk; 020 7927 0807; 020 7291 9973). should be received by 1 December 2016. Please note that payments received after Payment by Direct Debit this date may result in a delay in journal Setting up a direct debit: new direct debit subscriptions being renewed. payers The Society encourages payment by direct LMS member benefits debit. If you do not already pay by this Members are reminded that their annual method and would like to set up a direct subscription entitles them to the following debit (this requires a UK bank account), range of benefits: please visit the LMS website to download • Membership of a vibrant, national and Guidance on Setting Up a Direct Debit: international mathematics community. www.lms.ac.uk/membership/paying-your- • Networking opportunities. subscription for further information on • Opportunities to influence national setting up a direct debit online with Go- policy. Cardless.com • Full voting rights in Society elections – your chance to shape the future of the Setting up or making changes to a direct LMS. debit: current direct debit payers • A complimentary monthly Newsletter – If you do already pay by direct debit and available in print and online; to keep would like to make changes or set up a up-to-date with the latest mathematical new direct debit (this requires a UK bank developments, including policy issues, account), please visit the LMS website details of forthcoming events, book LMS Items

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

reviews and more. via the LMS, and an option to subscribe • Regular LMS e-Updates. to the Journal of the European Math- • Opportunities to attend events hosted ematical Society. by the Society. • Use of Verblunsky Members’ Room • Free online subscriptions to the Bulletin at De Morgan House, Russell Square, of the London Mathematical Society, London. Journal of the London Mathematical • Use of University College London library Society and Proceedings of the Lon- where the Society’s Library is housed. don Mathematical Society. Free online • The opportunity to sign the LMS Mem- subscription to Nonlinearity (published bers’ Book, which dates back to 1865 jointly with the Institute of Physics). when the Society was founded and con- • Members discount on other selected tains signatures of members throughout LMS publications; 25% discount on the the years, including Augustus De Mor- LMS Lecture Note Series, 25% discount gan, Henri Poincaré, G.H. Hardy on the LMS Student Texts. and Mary Cartwright. • Discounted membership of the Europe- Elizabeth Fisher an Mathematical Society, when joining Membership & Activities Officer

6 LMS ELECTIONS 2016

Voting for the LMS 2016 Elections will open Forum on the LMS website for use by can- on 6 October. All members who are regis- didates and members. All members are tered for electronic contact and who are encouraged to make use of the Forum. The eligible to vote will receive an e-mail with slate of candidates appears on the LMS instructions on how to vote, paper copies will website at www.lms.ac.uk/about/council/ not now be sent automatically to those so lms-elections. registered. Paper copies may be requested. It is hoped as many members as possible Members eligible to vote who are not reg- will vote in the 2016 LMS Elections. Results istered for electronic communication will be will be announced at the Society’s AGM to sent a paper copy, though such members are be held on 11 November 2016. able to vote online and are encouraged to do so. Ensure that your details are current Members are asked to regularly check their All members are strongly encouraged to post/email in October for communications ensure that their e-mail and postal contact from the Electoral Reform Society regarding details registered with the Society are the elections. up-to-date to enable the election process Prior to this, a communication will be sent to run smoothly. All members can elec- by the Society to all members who are regis- tronically update their personal contact tered for electronic communication informing details on the Members Section of the them that they can expect to shortly receive LMS website and all members are encour- some election correspondence from the ERS. aged to use this facility. Any changes to Those not registered to receive email corre- personal details would be required no spondence from the LMS will receive all com- later than 7 September 2016 for election munications in paper format, both from the purposes. Society and from the ERS. Fiona Nixon The Society will also host an Elections Executive Secretary [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

LMS Miidllands Regiionall Meetiing and Workshop on IInntteerraaccttiioonnss ooff HHaarrmmoonniicc AAnnaallyyssiiss aanndd OOppeerraattoorr TThheeoorryy Biirmiingham, 13­16 September 2016

MINI­COURSES Kaj Nyström Javier Parcet Uppsala Universitet Instituto de Ciencias Matemáticas

SPEAKERS 7 Pascal Auscher Charles Batty Université Paris­Sud University of Oxford Tony Carbery Andrea Carbonaro University of Edinburgh Università degli Studi di Genova Martin Dindoš Véronique Fischer University of Edinburgh University of Bath Dorothee Frey José María Martell Delft University of Technology Instituto de Ciencias Matemáticas Sylvie Monniaux Detlef Müller Aix­Marseille Université Christian­Albrechts­Universität zu Kiel Fulvio Ricci Maria Vallarino Scuola Normale Superiore Politecnico di Torino Jim Wright University of Edinburgh

Organisers: Alessio Martini and Andrew Morris (Birmingham)

http://web.mat.bham.ac.uk/lmsmidlands2016/ LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

BCS-FACS Evening Seminar Joint event with the London Mathematical Society

Thursday 3rd November 2016, 6:00pm

8 courtesy University of Glasgow of University courtesy

Picture Professor Muffy Calder (University of Glasgow)

Probabilistic formal analysis of software usage styles in the wild

Discrete mathematics and logics are used to analyse the intended behaviour of software systems. Statistical methods are used to analyse the logged data from instrumented systems. So what happens when we instrument software: can we bring the two techniques together to analyse how people actually use software?

But users are difficult – they adopt different styles at different times! What characterises usage style, of a user and of populations of users, how should we characterise the different styles, how do characterisations evolve over an individual user trace, and/or over a number of sessions over days and months, and how do characteristics of usage inform evaluation for redesign and future design? Can we formalise these concepts and construct effective procedures?

Professor Calder will outline a novel mathematical/computational approach that aims to answer all these questions. The approach is based on discrete space stochastic models, statistical inference of those models, and stochastic temporal logics and model checking for investigating hypotheses about use, all applied to longitudinal sets of logged usage data. The approach is the result of a five year collaboration between software developers, statisticians, HCI, and formal methods experts. She will illustrate by way of a mobile app that is used by tens of thousands of users worldwide; a new version of the app, based on the analysis and evaluation, has just been deployed. This is formal analysis in the wild!

The venue is the London Mathematical Society, De Morgan House, 57-58 Russell Square, London WC1B 4HS. Refreshments will be available from 5.30pm.

The seminar is free of charge and open to everyone. If you would like to attend, please register at [email protected]. [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

Joint Meeting with the RSS and Fisher Memorial Trust

Data Science: The View from the Mathematical Sciences 27th October 2016 Royal Statistical Society, 12 Errol Street, London EC1Y 8LX The 35th Fisher Memorial Lecture will be given by Professor Nancy Reid (University of Toronto) as part of this half-day conference Final Programme 9 13.00 Lunch 14.00-14.45 Professor Neil Lawrence (University of Sheffield) Computational Perspectives: Fairness and Awareness in the Analysis of Data 14:45-15:30: Dr Johan Koskinen (University of Manchester) Generative and Estimable Models for Longitudinal Social Networks 15.30-16.00 Tea/Coffee 16.00-17.15 The Fisher Memorial Lecture Professor Nancy Reid (University of Toronto) Statistical Science and Data Science: Where do we go from here? 17.15 Drinks and light refreshments

We are grateful to the London Mathematical Society for sponsoring lunch and the post-lecture refreshments Register here: https://events.rss.org.uk/rss/55/register There is no charge to attend but registration is required Organiser Name: Paul Gentry ([email protected])

1865 - 2015 LMS Items

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

OPEN HOUSE 2016

For the sixth year the LMS will open its doors to the public as part the Open House London event. De Morgan House will be open on Sunday 18 September from 10 am until 5 pm. Visitors will be given a tour of the building and there will be presentations on mathematics and the work of the Society. Since the LMS opened its doors in 2011 there have been over 1,500 visitors.

LMS COUNCIL DIARY 8 July 2016: A personal view

This diary entry covers the 8 July 2016 tion for 2016-2017, and budget planning Council meeting. After agreeing on the for 2017-2019. Council agreed the income minutes of the previous Council meeting and expenditure for 2016-2017 and the 10 and noting the unconfirmed minutes of the planning figures for 2017-2019. Finance and General Purposes Committee The President informed the Council about meeting, the Council received an update on the progress of discussions on how the the activities of the President undertaken Society might support the area of math- since the last meeting of the Council. The ematics and computation. Professor Arieh main activities included attendance at: the Iserles is to help the Society in this matter Abel Prize Ceremony, the Standing Orders by assembling a group of specialists to Review Group, and the meeting of the consider possibilities. LMS Departmental Representatives. There Council continued to discuss the Newslet- was a further discussion about the plans ter Review and agreed that expressions of for the Strategic Retreat 2017, and the interest should be invited for the position President reminded Council of the impor- of Editor-in-Chief and a shortlist submitted tance of focusing on strategic matters at to Council for consideration. the meeting, rather than details. Council agreed the recommendation of Council was very pleased to note the the Prizes Committee that the 2016 Zeeman decision of the Presidential Search Group Medal be awarded to Rob Eastaway. to nominate Caroline Series for election as Other activities to note were an update President in November 2017. by Vice-President Brown on analysing Vice-President John Greenlees informed the effects of the allocation of Doctoral Council about the Parliamentary Links Day Training funding; a proposal by Eugenie held at Westminster on the day after the Hunsicker, as Chair of the Women in Math- EU Referendum. He noted that both the ematics Committee, to encourage expres- Council for Mathematical Sciences and sions of interest from departments to host European Mathematical Society had issued Women in Mathematics Days and Girls in statements following the Referendum Mathematics events; our response to the result. consultation on the Teaching Excellence There was a discussion on financial matters, Framework. including accounts review, budget alloca- Alina Vdovina [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

16-17 December 2016

Department of Mathematics, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK.

© Georgi Mabee

University of York 11

All Finalists Maths Undergraduates, who are considering applying for a Maths PhD in 2017, are invited to attend the 2016 LMS Prospects in Mathematics Meeting.

The meeting will feature a range of speakers from a wide range of mathematical fields across the UK who will discuss their current research and what opportunities are available to you:

Statistics, Probability and Finance o Tim Spiller, (University of York) o Martin Hairer (University of Warwick) Quantum Physics and Quantum Stochastic analysis and Probability Information o Vicky Henderson (University of o Sarah Waters (University of Oxford) Warwick) Mathematical Finance Fluid Dynamics o Julie Wilson (University of York) Pure Mathematics Applications of Statistics o Victor Beresnevich (University of York) o Alastair Young (Imperial College) Analytic Number Theory Statistical Methodology o Peter Cameron (University of St Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Andrews) Algebra and Combinatorics Physics o Tony Carbery (University of o Mark Chaplain (University of Dundee) Edinburgh) Harmonic Analysis and Mathematical Biology and Theoretical PDEs Ecology o Katrin Leschke (University of o Ruth Gregory (Durham University) Leicester) Geometry General Relativity and Cosmology

50 places are available, including overnight accommodation and some funding towards travel costs.

To apply: Please email Claire Farrar/Linda Elvin ([email protected]); headed Prospects 2016 Application with the statement: “I am on track academically to begin Ph.D. studies in 2017” with evidence of your predicted degree classification.

Application deadline is Friday 11 November 2016. Late application will be considered at the organisers’ discretion . LMS Items

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

LMS NEWS FOR UNDERGRADUATES, MASTERS STUDENTS, PhD STUDENTS, POST-DOCS AND EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS UNDERGRADUATES 16-17 December 2016 Application deadline: 11 November 2016 Date for your diary: 16-17 December 2016 The next LMS Prospects in Mathematics Application deadline: 11 November 2016 Meeting will be held in York. Further details The next LMS Prospects in Mathematics are available online: www.lms.ac.uk/events/ Meeting will be held in York. Further details lms-prospects-mathematics-meeting. are available online: www.lms.ac.uk/events/ lms-prospects-mathematics-meeting. PhD STUDENTS Funding for Undergraduate Society Dates for your diary: Meetings: Up to £500 available 15 September 2016: Application deadline for Looking to organise a meeting for your Postgraduate Conference Grants (Scheme 8). Society? Apply to the LMS for funding to Thinking of organising your own UK confer- support costs for a speaker and to cover ence for your peers? Apply to the LMS for catering costs e.g. a wine reception after the support of up to £4,000. Further details online: meeting. Further information and an appli- www.lms.ac.uk/grants/postgraduate-research- cation form are available online: www.lms. conference-grants-scheme-8. ac.uk/grants/LMS-Funding-Undergrad-Soc- 12 11 November 2016: Graduate Student Meetings. Meeting, BMA House, London MASTERS STUDENTS Join us for a morning of talks, including the chance to give your own talk, prior to the LMS Dates for your diary: AGM and guest lectures by Alan Champneys 11 November 2016: Graduate Student (Bristol) and the Naylor Prize Lecture; Jon Meeting, BMA House, London Chapman (Oxford). Further details available Join us for a morning of talks, including online: www.lms.ac.uk/events/society-meetings. the chance to give your own talk, prior to the LMS AGM and guest lectures by Alan POST-DOCS AND EARLY Champneys (Bristol) and the Naylor Prize CAREER RESEARCHERS Lecture; Jon Chapman (Oxford). Further Date for your diary: 15 September 2016 details available online: www.lms.ac.uk/ Application deadline for Research Grants. events/society-meetings. • Have you recently been appointed to your [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

first positions as a new lecturer? Why laborator? Apply to the LMS for sup- not host a scientific meeting to celebrate port of up to £1,200 from a Research this important milestone in your career. in Pairs Grant (Scheme 4). Further Grants of up to £600 are available from details online: www.lms.ac.uk/grants/ the LMS Celebrating New Appointments research-pairs-scheme-4. scheme: www.lms.ac.uk/grants/celebrat- • The LMS also runs other grant schemes. ing-new-appointments-scheme-1. For more information, visit www.lms. • Planning a research visit with your col- ac.uk/grants or email [email protected]. 13

Mathematics Access Grid Instruction and Collaboration

The MAGIC group runs a wide range of PhD level lecture Advanced courses in pure and applied mathematics, using IOCOM’s Visimeet Video Conferencing technology supported by Janet. Postgraduate MAGIC stands for Mathematics Access Grid Instruction and Collaboration and is a consortium of 20 UK mathematics Courses in departments who jointly deliver the programme of lectures over the web. Their students are able not only to receive the Mathematics lecture live, but also to interact in real time with the lecturers. Students from universities outside of the MAGIC consortium can subscribe to MAGIC and join courses, including assessment, on a term-by-term basis, for a small fee. Details of all the courses MAGIC provide can be found at: www.maths-magic.ac.uk 2016CEMPS039

Courses for 2016-17 and subscription details can be found at: www.maths-magic.ac.uk Awards

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

LMS UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH BURSARIES 2016

The London Mathematical Society is pleased alongside a research supervisor. The purpose to announce the list of successful applicants of the Bursaries is to enable undergraduates to its third round of Undergraduate Research with research potential to experience research Bursaries. For the 2016 round 36 awards and to encourage them to consider a career in were made to students from 18 different scientific research. *Indicates that the institu- institutions to undertake a research project tion agreed to match-fund the award.

Institution Research Student Research Supervisor Aberdeen Ellen Henke Gyan Singh Identifying Mathieu groups Bath* Jonathan Dawes Anvarbek Atayev Thermal convection in non-Newtonian fluids Bath* Melina Frietag Paul Russell Projection based preconditioners for linear discrete ill-posed problems arising in image processing Bath* Simon Harris Philip Cohen Characteristics of vortex motion of closed surfaces of revolution Bath* Peter Postl Ludi Wang Incentive mechanisms for research 14 and innovation Bristol* Márton Bálazs Magnus Bennett Interacting walkers: stationarity and fluctuations Bristol* Thilo Gross Salvador Catsis Effective degree in epidemic spreading on complex networks Cambridge* Carola-Bibiane Georg Maierhofer Bilevel optimisation for learning Schonberg the sampling pattern in magnetic resonance tomography Cambridge* Natalie Vriend Katarzyna Silo honking: experimental investiga- Warburton tion into the origins and characteris- tics of sound emission from granular flow in a vertical tube Durham* Vitaliy Kurlin Philip Smith Superpixel meshes for faster image and video processing Durham* Simon Ross Danny Vagnozzi Tensor networks and holography East Anglia* Joseph Grant Audie Warren Constructing finite Frobenius rings for application in algebraic coding theory East Anglia* David Proment Benjamin Young- Vortices in superfluids Longstaff Edinburgh* Ruth King Martin Trimmel Exploring spatially explicit capture- recapture models Glasgow* Christophe Ionut Paun Geometry of low genus Riemann Athorne surfaces Glasgow* Ludger Evers Aleksandra Smoothing methods for data from Boicuka time-of-flight experiments [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

Glasgow* Luigi Vergori Theodora Torcea A rigorous mathematical deriva- tion of the Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation Glasgow* Andrew Wilson Sebastian Cultrera Phylogenic algebraic geometry: di Montesano local description of the Kimura 2-parameter model Imperial Paolo Cascini Federico Study of elliptic curves and its ap- College* Bongiorno plications Nottingham* Joel Feinstein William Reynolds Removability of exceptional sets for Hölder continuous functions on compact plane sets Nottingham* John King Jack Fellerman Exponential asymptotics Nottingham* Matthias Kurzke Timothy Espin Point vortex configurations Nottingham* Yves van Gennip Zhaoyuan Zou Optimal parameter selection in topic models Nottingham Jonathan Crofts Daniel Crookes Multiplex network models of the Trent* brain Oxford* Yves Cadebosq Lorenzo Sarnataro On maximum principle for systems of 2nd order elliptic PDE Oxford* Kobi Kremnitzer Daniel Fletcher Kac-Moody groups as algebraic groups and their quantum 15 versions Oxford* Tom Sanders Ana-Eliza Sumsets of very large density Casapopol Plymouth Daniel Robertz Edward Kitcher Exact solutions of PDEs and symmetries Portsmouth* Thomas Kecker Callum Waite Investigation of lattice reduction algorithms for the NTRU encryp- tion scheme Portsmouth* William Lee Michael Castle Mathematical modelling of a new design of wave energy converter St Andrews* David Dritschel Sarah Stirrat Characteristics of vortex motion of closed surfaces of revolution University Karen Page Luzie Helfmann Game theoretic investigation of College London* the roles of trust and reputation in online retail University Dmitri Vassiliev Mihal Barbu Spectral analysis of the operator College London* curl on a closed Riemannian 3-manifold Warwick* Weiyi Zhang Jonah Duncan Zoli manifolds and their inter- actions with complex and symplectic geometry York Martin Bees Euan Smithers Modelling flow fields due to microorganisms in confined envi- ronments York Victor Lawrence Lee Rational points near manifolds Beresnevich Awards, News

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

EMS PRIZES 2016

The 2016 prizes of the European Mathemati- Felix Klein Prize cal Society (EMS) were announced at the 7ECM The prize was awarded to Patrice Hauret in Berlin. The prizes were awarded by the (Michelin, France). The prize is awarded President of the EMS, Pavel Exner, together to a young scientist or a small group with representatives of the prize committees. of young scientists (normally under the age Each award comprises a certificate and a cash of 38) for using sophisticated methods to prize of €5,000. give an outstanding solution, which meets with the complete satisfaction of EMS Prizes industry, to a concrete and difficult industrial The prize is awarded to mathematicians under problem. 35 years of age of European nationality or working in Europe. The ten winners were: Otto Neugebauer Prize • Mark Bravermann (Princeton, USA) The prize was awarded to Jeremy Gray • Vincent Calvez (ENS Lyon, France) (Open University, UK). The prize is awarded • Guido De Philippis (SISSA Trieste, Italy) for highly original and influential work • Hugo Duminil-Copin (Geneva, Switzerland) in the field of history of mathemat- • James Maynard (Oxford, UK) ics that enhances the understanding of • Peter Scholze (Bonn, Germany) either the development of mathemat- • Peter Varjú (Cambridge, UK) ics or a particular mathematical subject 16 • Geordie Williamson (MPI Bonn, Germany) in any period and in any geographical • Thomas Willwacher (ETH Zurich, region. Switzerland) More information on each prize winner is • Sara Zahedi (KTH, Sweden) available at http://tinyurl.com/gqjotje.

STEPHEN SMALE PRIZE: CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

The third Stephen Smale Prize will be of existence, with an established and recog- awarded at the conference of the Founda- nized position in the scientific community, tions of Computational Mathematics (FoCM) the Society created the Stephen Smale Prize being held in Barcelona from 10 to 19 July whose objective is to recognize the work of 2017 (www.ub.edu/focm2017). a young mathematician in the areas at the The Society for the Foundations of Com- heart of the society's interests and to help putational Mathematics was created in the to promote his or her integration among the summer of 1995, following a month-long leaders of the scientific community. The first meeting in Park City, Utah, which was princi- Stephen Smale Prize was awarded in 2011 pally organized by Steve Smale “to strength- to Snorre H. Christiansen; the second recipi- en the unity of mathematics and numerical ents in 2014 were Carlos Beltran and Mark analysis, and to narrow the gap between Braverman. pure and applied mathematics”. Smale's More information and prize rules can be vision has been the Society's inspiration for found at www.ub.edu/focm2017/smaleprize. all these years. The journal Foundations of html. Computational Mathematics was created; Nominations should be sent to the FoCM several colloquia and research semesters were Secretary Angela Kunoth (kunoth@math. organized, and an international conference uni-koeln.de) as a single pdf-file by 24:00 is held every three years. After fifteen years (GMT) on 9 October 2016. [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

CECIL KING TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP 2016

The London Mathematical Society annually student, supervised by Dr Stéphane Launois, awards a £5,000 Cecil King Travel Scholar- expecting to submit his thesis in early 2017. ship in Mathematics, to a young mathema- Brendan will travel to the University of tician of outstanding promise. The Scholar- Waterloo, Canada where he will work ship is awarded to support a period of study with Professor Jason Bell. In particular the or research abroad, typically for a period of visit will cover noncommutative geometry, three months. representation theory and ideal theory. The 2016 Cecil King Travel Scholarship has Brendan will also collaborate with the been awarded to Brendan Nolan of the wider algebra community during his time University of Kent. He is currently a PhD at Waterloo.

NEW GRESHAM COLLEGE PROFESSOR ANNOUNCED

Gresham College etry-professorship/. has announced The series of free public lectures to be the appointment delivered during 2016-17 will be on Math- of Chris Budd, ematics and the Making of the Modern and OBE, Professor Future World. The six lectures will investi- 17 of Applied Math- gate how mathematics is relevant to all of ematics, Univer- our lives, and the process by which math- sity of Bath, to ematical ideas move from the abstract to the oldest math- the practical, and also how technology is ematical chair transferred between very different disci- in Britain, the plines. The lectures will show the role of Professorship mathematics both in the technology that of Geometry we all take for granted, and also its major and Other Mathematical Sciences at applications to some of the Eight Great Gresham College. In his role as Professor of Technologies, recently identified by HM Geometry at Gresham College, Chris Budd Government. The hour-long free public will continue the 419-year-old tradition of lectures will take place at the Museum of delivering free public lectures in the City of London, EC2: London and beyond. What have mathematicians done for us? As well as his new position at Gresham 1 pm, Tuesday 11 October 2016 College, Chris Budd is Professor of Applied The challenge of Big Data Mathematics and Director of the Centre of 1 pm, Tuesday 15 November 2016 Nonlinear Mechanics, University of Bath. Mathematics goes to the movies His broad research interests are based on 1 pm, Tuesday 10 January 2017 interdisciplinary industrial and applied How much maths can you eat? mathematics, particularly in complex non- 1 pm, Tuesday 14 February 2017 linear problems arising in real applications. Mathematical materials He was awarded his OBE in 2015 for services 1 pm on Tuesday 14 March 2017 to science and mathematics education. Energetic mathematics More information about the Gresham 1 pm on Tuesday 25 April 2017 Geometry Professorship can be found at More information about the lectures can www.gresham.ac.uk/professorships/geom- be found at http://tinyurl.com/zc3apc3. News

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

SUBLIME SYMMETRY

William De Morgan was one of the most who undoubtedly sparked his son’s interest creative and inventive ceramicists of the 19th in geometry, allowing him to utilise it with century. His bold, colourful designs have long such conviction and flair. been look to as pivotal in the Arts and Crafts The De Morgan Foundation, who have movement, through De Morgan’s associa- organised this touring exhibition of William tion with Morris & Co. Sublime Symmetry is De Morgan’s ceramics and design on paper, an exhibition which looks past the glorious would like to invite you to the private view lustre glazed vases and tiles to De Morgan’s at Torre Abbey in Torbay, Devon, on Friday 9 design and pattern making process, which September, to see first-hand this wonderful singles him out as a designer with extraordi- synergy of mathematics and art. The exhi- nary mathematical skill. De Morgan’s father bition will be open at Torre Abbey until 4 was the notable Victorian mathematician December 2016. and logician, Augustus De Morgan, the first Sarah Hardy, Exhibition Curator President of the London Mathematic Society Sublime Symmetry

MATHEMATICS REMAINS TOP A-LEVEL SUBJECT 18 Mathematics continues to be the top A-level to all students receiving their AS and A-level subject in spite of a decrease in the number results today. of A-level Mathematics entries across the The skills students develop in studying UK. While the number of students sitting Mathematics open up a wide choice of the exam is down by 0.6% on last year to rewarding careers. Mathematical sciences 92,163, the percentage of the total A-level play a vital role in all aspects of modern cohort represented by mathematics has risen society, including cybersecurity, manufactur- slightly from 10.9% to 11%. ing sectors such as aerospace, finance and Figures released today by the Joint Council meeting the new challenges of ‘big data’. for Qualifications also show that A-level Maintaining the pipeline of well-trained Further Mathematics has continued to rise in mathematicians is vital for the future pros- popularity, with entries increasing by 1.8% perity of the UK and its position in the world (to 15,257). economy. However, a worrying trend is that AS Professor Peter Giblin, Chair of the Higher Mathematics entries decreased by 1.6% Education Committee at the IMA, and (to 162,741), while AS Further Mathemat- Professor Alice Rogers, Chair of the Education ics entries decreased 1.1% (to 26,742). The Committee at the LMS added, ‘It is excellent reformed A-level in Mathematics has not news that the proportion of A-level entries yet been introduced, so this may be an early in both Mathematics and Further Mathemat- warning sign that the changing funding ics continues to rise, and candidates are to regime and the decoupling of AS from be congratulated on a further increase in A-level already underway in almost all high grades achieved. The more worrying subjects are combining to reduce the number trends at AS will need to be monitored of students taking a fourth subject at AS. carefully, since both AS Mathematics and The London Mathematical Society (LMS) Further Mathematics are useful qualifica- and the Institute of Mathematics and its Ap- tions in their own right as well as providing a plications (IMA) extend their congratulations stepping stone to the full A-level’. [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

The Mathematics behind De Morgan’s Ceramic Designs

You are invited to the private view of SUBLIME SYMMETRY 19 EXHIBITION OPEN at Torre Abbey 10 September - 9 September 2016 4 December 2016 6 - 8.30pm

Open daily throughout Speeches at 7pm September, Weds to Sun Please RSVP to from October to December, [email protected] 10am - 5pm Torre Abbey, The King’s Drive, Tickets: Adult £7.85 Torquay TQ2 5JE Concession £6.45 www.torre-abbey.org.uk Under 18s free entry 01803 293593

OPENING WEEKEND FREE ENTRY FOR ALL! News

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

PARLIAMENTARY LINKS DAY 2016

With the result of the EU referendum and its and the community was anxious for reassur- potential impact on higher education, science ances of what the future might hold. The and research it was very timely that the topic Minister of State for Universities and Sciences, for discussion at this year’s on Tuesday 28 June Jo Johnson MP, addressed the delegates and 2016 at the House of Commons, organised by pointed out that the community as a whole the Royal Society of Biology, was Science after ‘needs to maximise the opportunities’ from the Referendum: What Next? Once again the the situation and that ‘international collabo- Council for the Mathematical Sciences (CMS) ration will become increasingly important’. was represented at the event and at the Johnson referred to a statement that had following House of Lords lunch, which was been issued by the Department for Business, attended by European Mathematical Society Innovation and Skills (http://tinyurl.com/ (EMS) President, Professor Pavel Exner, at the jdrkcz6) which outlines that there will be no invitation of the LMS. immediate changes in those areas of higher Many in the science, engineering, technol- education and research that are linked to EU ogy and mathematics (STEM) community had funding and movement of students. Johnson supported a remain vote as the benefits to was confident that UK STEM will endure science, research and innovation, for example and that the government will continue to through EU grants and the free movement ‘champion STEM’. of students and researchers, are vital to the The Chair of the Science and Technology 20 continued position of the UK as a ‘science su- Select Committee, Nicola Blackwood MP, gave perpower’. a passionate defence of the STEM community The event was opened by the Rt Hon John and the importance of the continued growth Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons, and sustainability of the sector through who welcomed the participants and went on support from the government to meet the to outline how STEM is ‘fundamental to the challenges that will inevitably arise in the country’s present and future’. coming months. Blackwood pointed out that The decision made by the UK public has in the medium term there would be uncer- meant the possibility of major changes for the tainty and that the Science and Technology STEM community in its dealings with Europe Committee will be at the forefront of nego- tiations to maintain the levels of funding for the STEM community, and looking at how to engage the public in discussions affecting science. The message she said was that ‘the UK is firmly open for business’ and the need was to ‘ensure that science and innovation are at the front and centre of the debate’. Regardless of the [ref- erendum] decision the UK is still a science superpower’. After the event the Science and Technology Committee announced that it had decided to examine the implica- © Royal Society of Biology tions and opportunities of leaving the EU for science and research and Pavel Exner, President of the EMS and have set up an inquiry to which the John Greenlees, Vice President of the LMS [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

community had advocated a remain vote in the interests of science, innovation and research, and that this message had not been listened to by the public as a whole, it was pe- ripheral to the decision making. The question is, ‘How does science reach out to the public more successfully?’ Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive, UUK highlighted how the UK HE sector relies on close ties with Europe and the need to maintain a close relationship going forward. The questions concerning the HE sector ‘need to be answered quickly’ and UUK is committed to engaging with govern- ment and European partners, with a UUK delegation to visit Brussels to discuss the way forward. The second panel session discussed how the STEM community already engages with the rest of the world and how this might continue and fill any gaps that arise from an EU exit. Dr Robert Parker, Chief Executive, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) said, ‘the STEM community 21 has a responsibility to collaborate globally. © Royal Society of Biology We don’t want to lose our leadership position Nicola Blackwood MP, Chair of the Science in the global scientific community’. and Technology Select Committee The closing address came from the Professor Sir Venki Ramakrishnan FRS, President of CMS is in the process of providing a submis- the Royal Society. Professor Ramakrishnan sion on behalf of the mathematical sciences outlined that the UK has historically been a (http://tinyurl.com/gpmozjn). leader in STEM and that this must continue Representatives from the STEM community otherwise the UK’s global influence would and MPs continued the discussion in two panel decline. Long term stable commitments were sessions that covered Science and Europe and required and it was important not to lose Science and the World. In the first session Dr scientists during what could be a difficult Sarah Main, Director, Campaign for Science economic period. With EU funding now at risk, and Engineering (CaSE) pointed out the im- overall investment in STEM must continue perative for the STEM community, to speak and negotiations with government to make with a united voice in future negotiations up any deficits in funding would be crucial. and that it was very important to present a He went on to say that the UK’s exclusion well-defined message. What in particular from any EU programmes would damage the made the relationship with the EU work with country’s ability to influence development in STEM and how might we convince people these areas and that the UK must continue to of the values of STEM? Dr Main saw this as be an open and welcoming place to conduct the responsibility of the entire community – research. ‘Many global challenges can only be academia, industry, learned and professional confronted by collaboration worldwide and bodies, and research charities. the challenges ahead provide opportunities Imran Khan, Chief Executive, British Science to look wider than Europe’. Association, went on to make a very important More information about the event is point that although the majority of the STEM available at http://tinyurl.com/hq3fsbf. News

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

MATHEMATICS POLICY ROUND-UP September 2016

RESEARCH greater collaboration across the system’. The report also highlights that the REF should Lord Stern review of REF continue to support excellence wherever it is The independent review of the process for found. The full report is available at http:// assessing university research and allocat- tinyurl.com/jk3nl9k. ing public funding was published in July, A summary of responses from the higher outlining proposals to protect and strength- education community to the call for evidence en the UK’s leadership in world-class research. for Lord Stern’s review of the Research Excel- Lord Stern commissioned by the govern- lence Framework (REF) is also available. It ment to carry out the review of the Research also includes the findings from 40 qualitative Excellence Framework (REF) to ensure future interviews with higher education profession- university research funding is allocated als and research users. More information is more efficiently, offers greater rewards for available at http://tinyurl.com/jkd4xq3. excellent research and reduces the adminis- trative burden on institutions. Science and Research after the EU Stern’s review of the Research Excel- referendum lence Framework - Building on Success and The House of Commons Science and Technol- Learning form Experiences sets out proposals ogy Select Committee decided to examine 22 including: the implications and opportunities of leaving • to count all research active staff in the the EU for science and research. More in- REF but varying the number of pieces they formation is available at http://tinyurl.com/ might submit - currently higher education gpmozjn. institutions select the staff that will be in- The Chair of the Science and Technol- cluded and this innovation will ease pres- ogy Select Committee, Nicola Blackwood MP, sure and encourage academics to research wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer new areas or on a longer time-scale; relating to protecting and promoting science • widening and deepening the notion of after the EU referendum. The letter is research “impact” to include influence available at http://tinyurl.com/znmskjh. on public engagement, culture and on The STEM community came together at this teaching, avoiding distortions of research year’s Parliamentary Links Day to discuss the choices and careers; future for science and research after the EU • introducing a new institutional level as- referendum (see page 20). sessment to foster greater cohesiveness between academics and reward collabora- HIGHER EDUCATION tion on interdisciplinary activities. Higher Education and Research Bill The Review also recommends that outputs The Bill was presented to the House on should not be portable. ‘HEIs hiring staff 19 May 2016. On Tuesday 19 July, the Bill during the REF cycle would be able to include received its Second Reading in the House of them in their staff return. But they would be Commons where MPs debated the main prin- able to include only outputs by the individual ciples of the Bill. The Bill has now been sent that have been accepted for publication after to the Public Bill Committee where detailed joining the institution. Disincentivising short- examination of the Bill will take place. The term and narrowly-motivated movement Bill Committee is expected to hold oral across the sector, while still incentivising evidence sessions on Tuesday 6 September long-term investment in people will benefit and the Public Bill Committee is now able UK research and should also encourage to receive written evidence, the closing date [email protected] No. 461 September 2016 for which is 18 October 2016. More information is available at http:// tinyurl.com/zhnjrxb.

Regius Professorships Her Majesty the Queen has honoured 12 UK universities by creating Regius Professorships as part of her 90th birthday celebra- tions. The title of Regius Professorship is a prestigious award bestowed by the Sovereign to recognise exception- ally high quality research at an insti- tution. Only 14 have been granted since the reign of Queen Victoria, including 12 to mark Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee. Underground Mathematics Recipients of new Regius Professor- ships have been selected by open competition, In the report ACME considers the ‘desirable judged by an independent expert panel of characteristics of questions used to assess business and academic experts. A Regius Pro- problem solving and sets out actions for 23 fessorship is a reflection of the exceptionally policymakers, awarding organisations and high quality of teaching and research at an in- the mathematics community to improve stitution. A new Regius Professorship in Math- the quantity and quality of problem solving ematics has been awarded to the University in mathematics tests and assessments’. The of Oxford. More information is available at full report is available at http://tinyurl.com/ http://tinyurl.com/hlppub2 h6hbwkc.

SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES Speech at ACME conference New teaching resources for sixth-form The Schools Minister, Nick Gibb, addressed mathematics delegates at the Advisory Committee on Underground Mathematics is the culmina- Mathematics Education (ACME) conference, tion of a five-year project funded by the held at the Royal Society on 12 July 2016. A government’s Department for Education and transcript of the speech is available at http:// delivered by the University of Cambridge’s tinyurl.com/hwcxgmg. Faculty of Mathematics. The new website offers hundreds of free OTHER teaching resources to help make A-Level New government departments and Ministers mathematics a ‘richer, more coherent and Following the creation of the new Depart- more stimulating experience for students and ment for Business, Energy and Industrial teachers alike’. More information is available Strategy (BEIS) the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP has at http://tinyurl.com/zobdglc. been appointed Secretary of State. Jo Johnson MP, remains as Minister of State for Universi- Assessment of problem solving ties, Science, Research and Innovation. More The Advisory Committee on Mathematics information is available at http://tinyurl.com/ Education (ACME) has published a report hlyhamr titled Problem solving in mathematics: The Rt Hon Justine Greening MP is the new realising the vision through better assessment. Secretary of State for Education. News

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

EU membership and UK science on leaving the EU and to identify any wider The House of Lords Science and Technol- actions which will be needed in the short ogy Select Committee has launched a short and medium terms to ensure that science follow-up investigation on EU member- in the UK can continue to flourish. More in- ship and UK Science. This short investiga- formation is available at http://tinyurl.com/ tion will focus on people, facilities and znjkd9d. funding. The Committee seeks evidence on Dr John Johnston the science dimension of the negotiations Joint Promotion of Mathematics

EUROPEAN NEWS

The following items are mostly from the H2020 grant success European Mathematical Society (EMS) An application from the mathematical webpage www.euro-math-soc.eu/news. community finally made it in the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme on Turkey: EMS protests user-driven e-infrastructure innovation. The against persecutions proposal MSO4SC - Mathematical Modelling, More than a thousand participants Simulation and Optimization for Societal 24 of the Seventh European Congress of Challenges with Scientific Computing was Mathematics, the largest profession- approved on 15 July 2016. Seven countries al meeting of mathematicians on our – Spain, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, continent, representing a community Norway, Sweden and France – within the tens of thousands strong, took the op- framework of the European initiative EU- portunity of the Congress's closing MATHS-IN joined forces to construct an e- ceremony to protest against the current infrastructure in the Cloud for Modeling, treatment of academics by the Turkish Simulation and Optimization that provides, government. The government-imposed in a user-driven, integrative way, tailored travelling ban had a direct impact on the access to the necessary services, resources scientific programme of the Congress, and tools. See www.cemosis.fr/projects/ as valued participants were unable to mso4sc/ . attend. Worse, many members of the sci- entific community have been dismissed EMS Council 2016 from their jobs and will face further re- One of the most important tasks of the strictions of their basic rights; the justi- Council of the European Mathematical fications for these infringements appear Society that convened at the Humboldt more than dubious. Such violations of University in Berlin during the weekend human rights generally, and to scien- 16-17 July 2016 was the renewal of the tists and teachers in particular, occurred EMS Executive Committee (EC). Volker repeatedly over the last century, in a Mehrmann (Berlin; 2017-18) and Armen number of countries. We all know their Sergeev (Moscow; 2017-20) were elected tragic consequences. as new Vice-Presidents of the society by a We express our solidarity with our vast majority of the delegates. It was much Turkish colleagues and demand that the more difficult to determine the composi- Turkish authorities treat their citizens in tion of the members at large of the EC for accordance with internationally recog- the next four years. Thirteen renowned nised standards of liberty. mathematicians stood as candidates for [email protected] No. 461 September 2016 election, and two rounds of voting were Congress of Mathematics in 2020. Delega- necessary to come to the conclusion that tions from the two bidders Seville (Spain) the following five were selected by the 80 and Portoroz (Slovenia) presented two at- voting delegates: Betül Tanbay (Istanbul), tractive proposals to the EMS Council on 17 Vicente Muñoz (Madrid), Beatrice Pelloni July 2016. The outcome of the subsequent (Edinburgh), Stefan Jackowski (Warsaw) and vote was that European mathematicians Nicola Fusco (Naples). President Pavel Exner, will meet for the 8ECM in Portoroz during Treasurer Mats Gyllenberg and Secretary the week 5 to 11 July 2020 (www.8ecm.si). Sjoerd Verduyn Lunel will continue to serve the EMS in these capacities until 2018. Brexit blues One way to combat any withdrawal 8ECM 2020 at Portoroz symptoms would be to join the EMS as an The second important decision to be taken individual member: see www.euro-math- by the delegates of the Council of the soc.eu/individual-members for details. European Mathematical Society was the David Chillingworth choice of the location of the next European LMS/EMS Correspondent

BRITISH SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS NEWS 25 The papers of the late historian of math- October 2016. As usual, although the event ematics and former BSHM President, Ivor is free, it will be necessary to book your Grattan-Guinness, including his extensive place and secure a ticket via the Gresham correspondence, have been provisionally College website at http://tinyurl.com/ sorted and are now in the safe keeping of the hma9np9. The meeting is administered by Archive of American Mathematicians (AAM) Gresham College and not BSHM; the event is based at the University of Texas, in Austin. very popular, open to the general public and The AAM is running an appeal for funds so places are limited. Every year this meeting that that the papers can now be properly sells out quite early. Thus disappointment is catalogued and archived in order to provide inevitable for any member who either leaves a major resource for people working on the booking very late or seeks entry on the day history of mathematics. Up to now half the without a ticket. If you intend to come, you target of $10,000 has been reached, and are strongly advised to take action now. As members of the BSHM who would like to last year, the Society’s AGM will be held at contribute are kindly requested in the first Birkbeck College in the early afternoon prior instance to contact the Council Secretary, to this event. Fenny Smith ([email protected]). BSHM Christmas Meeting, BMI, Birmingham, The following are details of the meetings 3 December 2016. Programme and booking for the rest of this year. arrangements will be posted on the website Mathematical Biography: A Celebration shortly. of MacTutor, St Andrew’s University, 16-17 Most meetings can be now booked and September 2016. The programme and paid for on-line. Participants are encour- on-line booking are available at http://www. aged to book by this simple method sooner mcs.st-and.ac.uk/mathbiog/. rather than later. Full details are on the Curves in Honour of Leibniz’s Tercentenary, website at www.bshm.ac.uk including a Gresham College, London, Thursday 27 number of non-BSHM meetings. News, Reports

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

GEOFFREY SHEPHARD

Professor Geoffrey C. Shephard, who was contribution to mathematics with a strong elected a member of the London Mathemati- intuitive component, which can be explained cal Society on 15 February 1952, died on 3 to those with little or no knowledge of uni- August 2016, aged 88. versity mathematics, though the work itself Following a very generous donation made may involve more advanced ideas. Professor by Professor Shephard, the London Math- Shephard’s main fields of interest were in ematical Society in 2015 introduced a new convex geometry and tessellations. He was prize. The prize, known as the Shephard Prize one of the longest-standing members of the is awarded biennially. The first Shephard LMS, having given more than sixty years of Prize was awarded to Professor Keith Ball membership. FRS (University of Warwick) in 2015. The It is anticipated that an obituary will be Shephard Prize is awarded for making a published in the LMS Newsletter in due course.

INFORMAL MEETING BETWEEN THE DMV AND THE LMS Report

26 On 18 July 2016, during the 7th European • The shared concern about transition from Congress of Mathematics (ECM) in Berlin, the school to university: in Germany there are Presidium of the Deutsche Mathematiker- transition courses in September before the Vereinigung (DMV) invited six members of semester begins. the LMS Council to a working dinner, during • The pattern in Germany whereby almost which we were to learn more about our two all mathematics departments live from Societies and explore possible common areas having two categories of students: (a) of concern. those aiming to do an academic major, Volker Bach, Christian Bär, Wolfram Koepf, and (b) those aiming to become teachers, Jürg Kramer and Michael Röckner attended who take some of the same courses. from the DMV, and Tony Gardiner, Stephen • The scientific programme of the ECM, in Huggett, Beatrice Pelloni, Iain Stewart, Simon particular how to include recent develop- Tavaré and Alina Vdovina from the LMS. ments in the subject while avoiding mak- Among the many issues discussed were the ing the programme too sensitive to shifts following: and swings in fashion. • The problem of game-playing and con- The elephant in the room (this is unfair to sequent distortion and damage to our elephants) was the British exit from the EU. research landscape resulting from evalu- Note that the meeting was arranged well ations such as the Research Excellence before the UK referendum, but of course Framework (REF), and the potential for much of our discussion focussed on possible more of the same for our teaching from consequences. The meeting underlined for the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). the LMS delegation the importance of main- • The LMS’s intention to encourage under- taining and improving our understanding of graduates to become members of the and good relations with our sister Societies in Society. Europe, and we are very grateful to our hosts • The DMV’s High School Graduate Prizes, of for their invitation and hospitality. which about 3,500 are awarded Stephen Huggett each year. LMS General Secretary [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

7ECM PANEL SESSION How to get your papers published – meet the Editors

A panel session on this topic was hosted latter was perhaps becoming the chief (if by the LMS on Wednesday 20 July 2016, at not only) purpose of publishing. In this the 7th European Congress of Mathemat- context, the choice of journal had turned ics in Berlin, with the aim of aiding under- into a fine balancing act: not to overreach standing between early career researchers and be rejected; not to undersell and be and those making editorial decisions for accepted by a journal with lower reputa- mathematical journals. The event attracted tion which could harm the author’s career about forty early career (and not so early aspirations. career) mathematicians, journal editors and Some authors may have been surprised representatives of mathematics publishers. by the great emphasis and importance The main topics discussed included how to assigned by the panel of editors to a well- choose the right journal for a paper, what written introduction and an accurate and are the editors’ thought processes and per- complete list of references. The main point spectives when selecting papers for accept- was that shortcomings here serve as ‘red ance, what should an author do if there flags’ lowering the editors’ expectations in are problems or delays in the peer review reading the rest of the paper and alerting process, and how might an author improve the editors to look for further flaws. their chances of getting their paper The panel was chaired by Professor John accepted for publication. Hunton, the LMS Publications Secretary, and 27 Various remarks were made regarding the included Professor Karen Vogtmann (Uni- dual purpose that a publication fulfils for versity of Warwick), Professor Radha Kessar an author: to disseminate their ideas, and (City University, London) and Professor Carles to position the author for appointments Casacuberta (University of Barcelona). and promotions. This gave rise to a lively Dr Ola Törnkvist discussion where some lamented that the Editorial Manager, LMS

Carles Casacuberta, Karen Vogtmann, Radha Kessar, John Hunton Reports

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

LMS POPULAR LECTURES 2016 BIRMINGHAM (University of Birmingham) 21st September 18:30

Heather Harrington (University of Oxford) The Shape of Data in Biology In recent years, areas of pure mathematics (maths for maths’ sake) such 28 as algebra, geometry and topology, are being applied to problems in biology. Dr Harrington will describe how to understand living systems using cutting-edge mathematics.

Julia Wolf (University of Bristol) One, Two, Red, Blue Ever wondered why noughts and crosses always results in a draw? In this talk Dr Wolf will explore the surprisingly deep mathematics behind this popular game and its variants.

Commences at 6.30 pm, refreshments at 7.30 pm, ends at 9.00 pm.

Admission is free, with ticket. Register by Thursday 15 September.

Register online at www.lms.ac.uk/events/popular-lectures

1865 - 2015 [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

LMS POPULAR LECTURES 2016 Report

On 29 June 2016 the Institute of Education and crosses with her talk One, Two, Red, Blue. in London hosted the 2016 LMS Popular Not the usual game, of course, but larger Lectures. A diverse audience, including many grids in higher dimensions. She used the students, enjoyed an evening of mathematics card game SET to demonstrate how to play with topics ranging from the use of data in in four dimensions and it was refreshing to biology to playing noughts and crosses. see teenagers engaged in a card game rather Dr Heather Harrington from the Univer- than a phone app. The pursuit of winning sity of Oxford kicked off the evening with strategies for these games may seem trivial, The Shape of Data in Biology. She compared however the methods developed to solve the spread of a biological contagion with them have been used in other problems the spread of the ice bucket challenge on such as understanding large and complex Facebook. How many of your friends needed networks. to take part in the challenge before you were The evening was enjoyable and informa- prompted to take part yourself, if at all? This tive. Our students appreciated learning how analogy gave our Year 12 students a better mathematics is used beyond the classroom understanding of mathematical modelling, and we are looking forward to a return visit and how mathematical networks can be used next year. to model this behaviour. Louisa Yena After the break, Dr Julia Wolf from the Second in Charge of Mathematics 29 University of Bristol had us playing noughts St Francis Xavier College, London

Julia Wolf Heather Harrington Reports, Record of Proceedings

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

LMS NORTHERN REGIONAL MEETING Report

An LMS Northern Regional Meeting was hosted in the Mathematics Department of the University of Manchester in June this year. The scope of the meeting was Dynamical Systems, Ergodic Theory and Applications, and what resulted was an extremely pleas- urable event. Over the two days around 55 people attended, many of whom were students and most of whom had travelled from other universities to join us in Manches- ter. The official LMS meeting took place on the afternoon of Thursday 23 June and consisted of plenary talks from Professors Sanju Velani (York) and Julien Barral (Paris 13). There was also a public lecture delivered by Dr Henna Koivusalo (York). These talks were very well- received and appropriate for the broad scope 30 of the meeting. Velani spoke on recent and on-going progress in Diophantine approxi- mation, which brought in connections with Sanju Velani number theory and hyperbolic geometry. Barral spoke on the fine structure of certain concerned aperiodic order in connection with projected measures connected with Mandel- quasi-crystals. brot percolation and Mandelbrot cascades. Over the rest of the two-day workshop, This talk was more probabilistic in nature there were a further two plenary talks given and also had links to fractal geometry and by Professors Ian Melbourne (Warwick) and dimension theory. Finally, the public lecture De-Jun Feng (Chinese University of Hong Kong). Melbourne discussed the infamous Lorentz attractor and, in particular, the recent break- through that it is exponentially mixing. Feng spoke on exact dimensionality of self-affine measures and, notably, announced a major, as yet unpublished, result of his that any self-affine measure is exact dimensional and satisfies the well-studied Ledrappier- Young formula. There were also nine contributed talks on a wide range of topics including statisti- cal stability, group actions, escape rates and spectral theory. Ad- ditionally, the meeting provided Julian Barral ample opportunity for collabora- [email protected] No. 461 September 2016 tion and extra-curricular discussions, which Nixon and Elizabeth Fisher. often went on into the evening. The webpage for the conference can be The conference reception was held on the found at: http://tinyurl.com/h95ljhj and Atrium Bridge in the Alan Turing building includes photos from the event, the schedule and was followed by the conference dinner itself, along with titles and abstracts, and the in EastZeast; an old favourite of the faculty conference poster. in Manchester. We were joined at the dinner Jonathan Fraser by LMS representatives Iain Stewart, Fiona University of St Andrews

31 De-Jun Feng Wine reception

RECORDS OF PROCEEDINGS AT LMS MEETINGS ORDINARY MEETING, 23 JUNE 2016 held at the University of Manchester as part of the Northern Regional Meeting and Workshop on Dynamical Systems, Ergodic Theory and Applications. Over 50 members and visitors were present for all or part of the meeting. The meeting began at 1.20 pm with the Programme Secretary, Professor Iain A. Stewart, in the Chair. There were 20 members elected to membership at this Society Meeting. Six members were elected to Associate membership: Matthew Dawes, Gareth Davies, Ruadhai Dervan, Ana Rojo, William Rushworth and Sacha van Tienhoven. Eleven members were elected to Ordinary membership: Winda Charles Akatch, Peter D. Allen, Pritpal Singh Chadha, Steven Green, Vic Grout, Jayapal Ravi, Enrico Scalas, Hideyasu Shimadzu, Daniel Shiu, Fiona Skerman and Simon Stringer. Three members were elected to Reciprocity membership: Greg Minshall, Ajit Iqbal Singh and George Yiannakopoulos. Three members signed the Members' Book and were admitted to the Society. Dr Jonathan Fraser introduced a lecture given by Professor Sanju Velani (York) on Diophantine Ap- proximation in Kleinian Groups: Extremality and All That. After tea, Dr Fraser introduced a lecture given by Professor Julien Barral (Paris 13) on Projections of Planar Mandelbrot Measures. Dr Fraser then introduced the Public Lecture given by Dr Henna Koivusalo (York) on A Short History of Aperiodic Order - From Crystals to Quasicrystals. The Programme Secretary, Professor Stewart, expressed the thanks of the Society to the speakers and to Jonathan Fraser for putting on such a wonderful meeting. Afterwards, the reception was held in the Alan Turing Building and the Society Dinner was held at a nearby restaurant, EastZeast. Reports

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

SCOTTISH PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS COLLOQUIUM Report The 4th Scottish Partial Differential from five Scottish and two English univer- Equations Colloquium (SPDEC 2016) took sities, and one lecturer. The plenary and place from 9 to 10 June 2016 at the Uni- invited talks and poster presentations versity of Dundee, as part of a series of covered a wide range of research areas annual meetings. The primary aim of this related to the analysis and numerical meeting, and the SPDEC series at large, analysis of PDEs, Scientific Computing, is to bring together young researchers, Stochastic PDEs and Multiscale Analysis. mostly from Scotland, and experts from Titles and abstracts of the plenary and the UK and abroad whose work features invited talks, as well as titles of the PDEs and their analysis and applications. poster presentations, can be found on We are happy to report that this goal was the website of SPDEC 2016 at www.maths. fulfilled, and the SPDEC 2016 was a great dundee.ac.uk/spdec2016/index.shtml. success. The Colloquium was supported by the The colloquium included four plenary London Mathematical Society Confer- talks given by Professor Sir John Ball ence grant, the Edinburgh Mathemati- (Oxford), Professor Willi Jager (Heidel- cal Society Research Support Fund, the berg), Professor Charalambos Makridakis Glasgow Mathematical Journal Learning 32 (Sussex) and Professor Barbara Nietham- and Research Support Fund, and the Uni- mer (Bonn), 15 invited talks given by versity of Dundee. young researchers from six Scottish and Irene Kyza and Mariya Ptashnyk three English universities, and 14 poster Division of Mathematics presentations given by 13 PhD students, University of Dundee

Attendees [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

LMS HARDY LECTURER JACOB LURIE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER Report

33

Jacob Lurie and Frank Neumann

As part of the LMS Hardy Lecture Series, algebraic groups G over function fields. He Professor Jacob Lurie from Harvard gave a started by giving a fascinating overview of lecture on 30 June 2016 at the University of the original conjecture as stated for number Leicester on Weil's Conjecture for Function fields. Fields. The Weil conjecture on Tamagawa numbers Professor Lurie reported on his spectacular says that the Tamagawa number of a simply recent breakthrough with Dennis Gaitsgory, connected algebraic group defined over a also at Harvard, on their proof of the Weil number field is 1. Weil himself calculated the Conjecture on Tamagawa numbers for Tamagawa number in many special cases in

Jacob Lurie Iain Gillespie, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, University of Leicester Reports, Meetings

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

1959. Several authors then checked this in stack of principal G-bundles over an algebraic other cases. For example, Langlands showed curve to settle the function field case of the it for Chevalley groups in 1966, Lai extended Weil Conjecture. the cases further to all quasisplit reductive The lecture of Professor Lurie was very well groups in 1980 and finally Kottwitz and attended by more than sixty mathematicians. Chernousov settled it finally for all groups at Besides the local mathematics faculty and the end of the 1980s. In the second part of their graduate students, many mathemati- his lecture Professor Lurie indicated the ideas cians and students from the Midlands region and challenges to proof the Weil Conjecture also attended. Professor Iain Gillespie, Pro- for algebraic groups over function fields. Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise Contrary to other problems, the function of the University of Leicester, introduced field case is actually more challenging and the speaker and the lecture was followed the impressive work by Lurie and Gaitsgory by a reception with the event ending with a introduces many new groundbreaking ideas, dinner in a local South Indian restaurant. like nonabelian Poincare duality and factori- Frank Neumann sation homology based on a thorough un- Department of Mathematics derstanding of the topology of the moduli University of Leicester

34 INSTITUTE FOR MATHEMATICAL INNOVATION UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME Report

This summer, eighteen students at the Univer- students spent up to 10 weeks working on a sity of Bath spent the holiday period gaining research project supervised by academic staff valuable mathematical research experience at the University of Bath. and getting a feel for what a career in science The IMI research internship programme has to offer. Participating in the Institute for fills an important gap between undergradu- Mathematical Innovation’s (IMI) Undergradu- ate and PhD study where students must be ate Research Internship Programme, the able to work independently. Importantly, the programme also gives students an opportunity to research a specific topic and establish a closer relation- ship with faculty members, who they can use as referees when applying for future jobs. Three of the students taking part in the research internship programme, Ludi Wang, Anvarbek Atayev and Paul Russell, received an Undergraduate Research Bursary from the London Mathematical Society (LMS). [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

Speaking of her experience of doing a dergraduate students received training in research internship, Ludi Wang said: "Doing academic report writing and referencing, a research internship has been a great op- and how to typeset mathematics using LaTeX. portunity for me to explore a topic which They also met PhD students from the EPSRC is considered too risky for coursework. Not Centre for Doctoral Training in Statistical only have I gained first-hand experience of Applied Mathematics (SAMBa) to hear first- doing research in a topic that is related to hand what it is like starting out in research. my Economics studies, but I could also fit the Students were also offered the opportunity work in around the other things I did this to join a journal club to learn how to analyse summer as the programme was flexible.” and interpret mathematical research papers. Anvarbek Atayev, who also received an Alongside the LMS, the IMI research in- LMS bursary, added: “During my internship, ternship programme was supported by I learnt how to use mathematics to solve a SAMBa and the Biotechnology and Biological real-world problem and research the litera- Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). ture on my own, which has given me more Sanne Terry confidence in terms of doing a PhD”. Marketing & Communications Officer, IMI Alongside their research, this year’s un- University of Bath

• Tamara Grava (Trieste) RANDOM MATRIX • Alice Guionnet (Lyon) 35 THEORY BRUNEL- • Alexander Its (Indianapolis) • Boris Khoruzhenko (London) BIELEFELD WORKSHOP • Holger Koesters (Bielefeld) The 12th Brunel-Bielefeld Workshop on • Gaultier Lambert (Stockholm) Random Matrix Theory (RMT) and its appli- • Anna Maltsev (Bristol) cations will take place at Brunel University • Aris Moustakas (Athens) London from 9 to 10 December 2016. This is • Alexander Ossipov (Nottingham) a two-day international event that builds on • Nina Snaith (Bristol) a series of RMT workshops organised by the • Martin Venker (Bielefeld) Mathematical Physics group at Brunel every • Oleg Zaboronski (Warwick) year since 2005, and jointly on a two-year Deadline for requesting participation rotation schedule with Bielefeld Univer- is 1 November 2016. A registration fee of sity (Germany) since 2011. This event aims £40 (£20 for PhD students) applies to all to bring together an international group workshop participants. Some funding is of leading researchers in RMT and related available for young researches presenting areas of probability theory and mathemati- a poster. Additional information, including cal physics, with particular focus on connec- how to register, can be found on the work- tions to both traditional and novel applica- shop's website at http://tinyurl.com/hcqpnr9 tions, such as statistical physics, complex or by contacting any of the organisers: networks, big data and machine learning. Gernot Akemann ([email protected] The program of the workshop will include bielefeld.de), Igor Krasovsky (i.krasovsky@ invited talks and a poster session with imperial.ac.uk), Dmitry Savin (Dmitry.Savin@ around 15 to 20 contributed posters. The brunel.ac.uk), Igor Smolyarenko (Igor.Smol- invited speakers are: [email protected]). The workshop is • Romain Couillet (Paris) supported by an LMS Conference grant, • Fabio Cunden (Bristol) DAAD (Germany) and the Department of • Benjamin Fahs (Louvain) Mathematics at Brunel. Meetings

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

The Australian Mathematical Society this year celebrates its 60th anniversary. For most of its 60 years it has had a reciprocity agreement with the LMS. This agreement enables LMS members to obtain discounts on the Society’s three journals, the Journal of the Austral- ian Mathematical Society, the Bulletin of the Australian Mathematical Society and annual conference. The resulting Mathsfest is the ANZIAM Journal, as well as the Austral- publicised on the opposite page: members of ian Mathematical Society Lecture Series, all the LMS are very welcome at these events. published for the Society by Cambridge Uni- The Society’s two major awards for a body versity Press. The Society’s Gazette, which has of work by members of the Society are the many similarities with the LMS Newsletter, is Australian Mathematical Society Medal, in- available freely online at www.austms.org. troduced in 1981, for distinguished research au/gazette. in the mathematical sciences by those under The Society welcomes members from all 40, and the George Szekeres Medal, intro- branches of the mathematical sciences and duced in 2002, for a sustained outstanding has two Divisions, ANZIAM and ANZAMP, contribution to research in the mathemati- for those with interests in industrial and cal sciences. In addition, in 2011 the Society applied mathematics (ANZIAM) or math- introduced the Gavin Brown Prize, for an ematical physics (ANZAMP). These Divisions outstanding and innovative piece of research 36 also include members from New Zealand. in the mathematical sciences published by In addition to holding an annual confer- a member or members of the Society. The ence, the Society supports regular meetings past winners of these awards can be found organised by its Divisions and by various at http://tinyurl.com/ju9g86r (AustMS Medal), Special Interest Groups within the Society. http://tinyurl.com/zv3bvvm (George Szekeres Jointly with the Australian Mathematical Medal) and http://tinyurl.com/zkfb7nl (Gavin Sciences Institute (AMSI) it also supports Brown Prize). Special Interest Meetings. These meetings In 2016, the Society will introduce the Ma- are open to all, although there are reduced honey-Neumann-Room Prize, named after registration fees for Society members. This the inaugural editors of its three journals. year, in collaboration with AMSI and in cel- This prize, for the author or authors of ebration of our 60th anniversary, there are an article in the mathematical sciences two special meetings adjoining the Society’s published in one of the three journals, is not restricted to members of the Society. The Society’s Council hopes that many members of the LMS will continue to choose to publish articles in our journals and hence become eligible for this prize in future years. Further information on the Society can be found on the website www.austms.org.au or from the secretary, Peter Stacey ([email protected]). Peter Stacey Honorary Secretary Australian Mathematical Society [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

MATHS FEST 2016 ranging from geometric variational problems such as minimal surfaces, harmonic maps The Australian Mathematical Sciences and the theory of optimal mass transport, Institute (AMSI) and the Australian Math- to geometric flows such as mean curvature ematical Society are organising a 3-in-1 flow and Ricci flow, and aspects of geometric event in Canberra, Australia in November/ PDE including eigenvalue problems and isop- December. The three events collectively are erimetric inequalities. For further details see: being called Maths Fest 2016 and the details http://tinyurl.com/zjfuvr7. of the individual events are as follows: MATHEMATICS IN THE Advances in Ergodic Theory, Hyperbolic Dynamics & Statistical Law REGIONS AND NATIONS The Australian National University, Canberra, The Open University is pleased to announce ACT, Australia an inaugural two-day conference to celebrate 28 November - 2 December 2016 the contributions of the university's regional This workshop brings together Australian academics to research and scholarship in the and international researchers interested in mathematical sciences and its teaching. This theoretical and applied areas of dynamical event additionally marks the appointment in systems, ergodic theory and probability, recent years of four new staff tutors in math- with expertise in topics such as hyperbolic ematics and statistics – Carol Calvert, Chris dynamics, thermodynamic formalism, statisti- Hughes, Sue Pawley and Katrine Rogers – and cal properties of dynamical systems, quantum is supported by the London Mathematical 37 ergodicity, infinite-dimensional ergodic Society under the Celebrating New Appoint- theory, stochastic processes, data assimila- ments grant. tion and computational dynamics. For further The external speakers are: Giampaolo details see: http://tinyurl.com/zq7t82p. D’Alessandro (Southampton), Andrew Jenkins (UCL), Jonathan Wattis (Nottingham) 60th Annual Meeting of the Australian and Ben Wells (Schlumberger). Mathematical Society The event will take place from 13 to 15 The Australian National University, Canberra, October 2016 in Christodoulou Meeting ACT, Australia Room 15 on the Open University campus 5-8 December 2016 in Milton Keynes. Attendance is open to The 60th annual meeting of the Australian everyone and there is no registration fee, Mathematical Society will feature an impres- but participants are asked to register on the sive list of both international and domestic website by 15 September 2016 for catering speakers and will be hosted by the Math- purposes. Further details, including a ematical Sciences Institute at the Australian schedule once available, can be found on the National University. For further details see: event’s website: https://sites.google.com/site/ http://tinyurl.com/gmm6y2e. mathsintheregions.

Nonlinear and Geometric Partial Differential Equations SHEFFIELD The Australian National University, Canberra, PROBABILITY DAY ACT, Australia 9-13 December 2016 The Sheffield Probability Day will take This workshop gathers Australian and in- place on Wednesday 21 September 2016 in ternational researchers in the areas of Lecture Theatre 10, Hicks Building. This year’s geometric analysis and geometric and Sheffield Probability Day is dedicated to the nonlinear partial differential equations, memory of Joe Gani (1924-2016), the founder Meetings

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

of the Applied Probability Trust. The lectures You are invited to register as soon as will be given by: possible. There is no registration fee, but • Antal Járai (Bath) at 2.15 pm a contribution will be requested for those Sum of inverse powers of Poisson distances coming to the dinner. Information on regis- • Jan Swart (UTIA) at 3.45 pm tration and further details of the meeting can The 2016 Applied Probability Trust Lecture be found at the webpage: http:// tinyurl.com/ Self-organised criticality on the stock jhddyxk. Current and recent PhD students market are encouraged to attend. The organisers Tea and coffee will be available at 3.15 pm may be able to provide modest travel grants in Room I15, Hicks Building. All are welcome. for these. (Please refer to the webpage.) For further information contact Emma Talib The meeting is organised by Charles (tel. 0114 222 3924, email: e.talib@sheffield. Harris ([email protected]), John Truss ac.uk). The meeting is supported by the ([email protected]) and Stan Wainer Applied Probability Trust. ([email protected]), supported by the School of Mathematics, University of Leeds DIRECTIONS IN and the British Logic Colloquium. COMPUTABILITY THEORY ONE DAY FUNCTION A Meeting in Memory of Barry Cooper THEORY MEETING A meeting in memory of Barry Cooper, who The One Day Function Theory Meeting will 38 died last autumn, will be held In the School be held at De Morgan House, London, on of Mathematics, University of Leeds, on Monday 12 September 2016. This is an annual Saturday 17 September 2016. All friends and meeting of complex analysts and function former students of Barry's, as well as anyone theorists. The speakers are: interested in Mathematical Logic, is welcome • Alan Beardon (University of Cambridge) to attend. The focus will be on Computability • Eleanor Lingham (Sheffield Hallam Theory, particularly with reference to Barry's University) work. • Eugenia Malinnikova (Norwegian Univer- Barry was a central figure in the study of sity of Science & Technology) Computability Theory in the UK, and had • Patrick, Tuen Wai Ng (University of Hong a large number of research students and Kong) postdoctoral assistants. He was a founding • Joaquim Ortega-Cerdà (University of member and president of the Association Barcelona) Computability in Europe (CiE). In recent years, • Leticia Pardo Simón (University of he also achieved a high profile because of his Liverpool) work in promoting awareness of the Alan The event is open to all. There is no need to Turing Centenary. register in advance, although there is a small The meeting will consist of four talks registration fee, payable on the day, which is followed by a dinner in the evening, together waived for the retired or unemployed. There with a jazz performance. (Barry was a is some support available for travel for UK founder and keen member of the Leeds Jazz students without other means of support - Club). The speakers are: contact the organisers for information. The • Marat Arslanov (Kazan State University) contact details of the organisers and further • Andrew Lewis-Pye (London School of details of the event can be found on the Economics) meeting website https://sites.google.com/ • Theodore A. Slaman (University of site/functiontheorymeeting. California, Berkeley) The meeting is supported by an LMS Confer- • Andrea Sorbi (University of Siena) ence grant. [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

VISIT OF OLEG University: Noether type theorems; contact John Gough ([email protected]) SMOLYANOV For further information contact James Professor Oleg Smolyanov (Moscow State Montaldi ([email protected]). University) will be visiting the UK from 31 The visit is partially funded by an LMS Scheme October to 26 November 2016. He is best 2 grant. known for his many contributions to infinite dimensional analysis, and more recently to VISIT OF IGOR VELCIC measure theory in topological vector spaces, and consequent understanding of Feynman Dr Igor Velcic (University of Zagreb, Croatia) integrals and transformations. Professor is visiting the UK from 18 September to 17 Smolyanov will give (at least) three seminars October 2016. He is an expert in calculus of during his stay as follows: variations, especially in homogenisation in • Thursday 10 November, Imperial College nonlinear elasticity theory. During his visit, Dr London: Feynman path integrals and Velcic will collaborate and give talks at: quantum anomalies; contact Dimitry Tu- • Bath: Monday 26 September raev ([email protected]) • Cardiff: Monday 3 October • Thursday 17 November, University of • Oxford: Monday 10 October Manchester: Noether theorems and quan- • Reading: Tuesday 11 October tum anomalies; contact James Montaldi For further details contact Dr Nikos Katzou- ([email protected]) rakis ([email protected]). The visit • Wednesday 23 November, Aberystwyth is supported by an LMS Scheme 2 grant. 39

STRUCTURE OF OPERATOR ALGEBRAS: SUBFACTORS AND FUSION CATEGORIES 23 – 27 January 2017 in association with the Isaac Newton Institute programme Operator Algebras: Subfactors and their Applications (9 January – 23 June 2017)

The opening workshop will focus on introducing the theoretic foundations of the six month programme. In particular, the workshop will feature both algebraic and analytic aspects of subfactors and fusion categories, including the classification of low index subfactors, modular tensor categories and their module categories, but also exposing the infinite depth, infinite index subfactors and exploiting free probability and planar algebras. Non unitary and non-semisimple fusion systems are coming to the fore (e.g. related to logarithmic conformal field theories) being studied through non-unitary Leavitt algebras. Further information available from the website www.newton.ac.uk/event/oasw01 Closing date for receipt of applications 27 October 2016. Reviews

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

MATHEMATICS IN ANCIENT EGYPT: A CONTEXTUAL HISTORY by Annette Imhausen, Princeton University Press, 2016, £34.95, US$45.00, ISBN 978-0691117133.

The history of mathematics isn't what the distinctive system of unit fractions. it used to be. Especially with respect to In her coverage of the Middle Kingdom ancient cultures, through the 1970's Imhausen introduces the algorithmic pres- studies tended to emphasize comprehen- entation of Egyptian problem texts that sion of the mathematics within a text, she and Jim Ritter have been promoting assessments of its sophistication, and as an effective medium to reflect the in- parallels to modern techniques. These tentions of the ancient writers. We suffer days, social history has taken over. What from a lack of mathematical texts in was the mathemat- the New Kingdom; ics used for? How did Imhausen instead it emerge, and how treats us with a was it understood series of texts that then? Mathematics mention mathemat- in Ancient Egypt is a ics in the contexts of conscious attempt to state administration, apply these new per- land measurement, spectives to perhaps architecture, scribal 40 the most ancient education, art, and mathematical culture wisdom literature. of them all. The problems and We see the differ- the explanations are ence already in the more difficult, partly table of contents. due to the inception Whereas the previous of “suprautilitarian” survey (Gillings, problems that have Mathematics in the the trappings of Time of the Pharaohs, practical use, but are 1972) structured its clearly mathematical chapters by math- exercises. Imhausen ematical topic, this emphasizes context book is organized by over content time period. When throughout, which that period is millennia in duration, this may be jarring to a traditional reader but seems appropriate. Imhausen does bring plays well into the project of restoring out, as much as the manuscripts allow, “history” to the history of mathematics. growths and differences between the five The evidence for Egyptian mathemat- main periods: prehistoric/early dynastic; ics is scanty; Imhausen deals with parts the Old, Middle, and New Kingdom; and of most of those manuscripts that are Greco-Roman. available, whether on papyri, ostraca, or After a brief taste of the Egyptian leather rolls. She stresses the valid point number system in the section on the that the data are likely skewed toward early dynastic period, Imhausen gives us a preserved texts often in funerary contexts, sample of arithmetic in the Old Kingdom since they have had the good fortune to in the context of systems of measurement. be buried in dry environments rather than It is here that we have our first look at wetter settings close to the Nile that are [email protected] No. 461 September 2016 destructive to papyri. Her explanations rather than mathematical values. Whether are thorough and generally easy to under- or not her approach is to the reader's stand, even for an interested lay person. taste, she has done a service by helping to Although there is much to learn about expand the history of mathematics “tent”. Egyptian mathematics that is not within We now have more available questions, these pages, Imhausen has succeeded in more available sources to answer them, producing a clear and innovative intro- and ultimately, more relevance. duction. Even more importantly, she has Glen Van Brummelen provided a clear example of how to write Cameron Friend the history of mathematics with social Quest University, Canada

MATHEMATICAL MINDSETS by Jo Boaler, John Wiley, 2015, pp 320, £13.00, €18.20, ISBN: 978-0470894521.

This is the second review of this book in the LMS Newsletter. The first, by David Sixsmith, was in the July edition. In that review he concentrated on a somewhat controversial claim by the author. Julian Gilbey felt that there are other aspects of this book that should be addressed which he has done in his review.

Jo Boaler has worked for many years to fixed (giving a “fixed mindset”), or is it the understand the impact of school structures result of hard work and practice (giving a 41 and teaching approaches to the math- “growth mindset”)? Boaler translates this ematical progress of students. While this into the mathematical teaching context: easily-readable book appears to be aimed many students have a “fixed mindset” with primarily at school respect to mathemat- teachers and sec- ics, and this is a sig- ondarily at parents, nificant factor holding many of the ideas them back from pro- apply equally well to gressing. (In my own those working with teaching experience, I undergraduates. I once asked a middle- should perhaps say set GCSE group why that I have taught they were not going mathematics in both to get A*s, and the secondary schools (for dominant response ten years) and univer- was because they sity, and am currently were “thick”, while developing A-level they regarded the top teaching resources for set as “smart”. Unsur- Underground Math- prisingly, they were ematics. reluctant to put in In this book, Boaler much effort.) Boaler draws on the work offers a whole panoply of Carol Dweck, a of tested techniques professor of psychology at Stanford who to help students to develop a mathemati- has developed a theory of “mindsets”. This cal growth mindset, and this pervades the is a description of how individuals perceive book. Many of these are now being used the source of their abilities: is it innate and in the UK and the USA; search Twitter for Reviews, Letters to the Editor

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

hashtags such as #WithMathICan, #Math- of mathematics education in this book. The Mindset and #YesUCan to see some of the theme of equity in mathematics education impact this work is already having. (offering all students the opportunity to Boaler has courted considerable contro- succeed, regardless of gender, race, and so versy by publishing research findings which on) pervades the text; this is another area fly in the face of “conventional wisdom”, in which she has a strong interest. There and which are therefore uncomfortable to is also a chapter devoted to effective as- many in the field of education, including sessment (building on the pioneering work some in government. She claims, as Dave of Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam [2]), which Sixsmith noted in July issue of the LMS contains a variety of practical techniques Newsletter, that “for the vast majority for immediate classroom use. of children – about 95% – any levels of One frustrating aspect of the book (at school math are within their reach”. This least for British readers) was the repeated statement is provocative, as Boaler herself sales pitch to take her online course. There acknowledges, and is incomprehensible is also one major area in which I felt the in the majority of UK schools today. But book was lacking. Teaching mathematics there are already examples of astonishing involves far more than choosing a good student progress when different teaching task: the mathematical understanding of approaches are used; one unrelated to the teacher, the questions which they ask this book was recently described by John (or don’t ask) of students during an activity, Mighton [1]. So the current status quo may and how they manage group and class 42 not actually be a necessary state of affairs. discussion to elicit mathematical under- In this book, Boaler repeats the message standing, are vital to the effectiveness of a given in her earlier books that setting task, yet there is relatively little discussion students (called “tracking” in American of this or acknowledgement of its signifi- schools) in mathematics is damaging to cance. Relatedly, there is little on how to students’ learning, and that there can be construct a course using these rich tasks better progress in heterogeneous groups. to actually cover an externally-imposed Some schools have begun to try this, and syllabus (which may be more of a British the book offers some interesting case issue than an American one) or on the sig- studies. This does, however, demand a nificant challenges involved in migrating fundamental change in the way we teach a school mathematics department from mathematics, moving from a “chalk-and- using setting to mixed-ability teaching. So talk” approach (where the teacher dem- by the end of reading the book, I felt very onstrates a method and then students inspired, with ideas for how things could practise it) to a much richer teaching style, be done differently, but realising that there with a focus on thinking mathematically, were still many unanswered questions and developing understanding of the subject a long journey ahead. and building connections between ideas. Julian Gilbey Which university department or employer Underground Mathematics would not want students who have learnt University of Cambridge how to think mathematically rather than just how to follow the rules? Boaler gives References examples of rich tasks (many taken from the NRICH project) which promote rich [1] John Mighton, JUMP Math: Multiplying mathematical thinking and offers some Potential, Notices of the AMS, February 2014, 61:2, pp 144-147 ideas as to how they may be used in the classroom. [2] Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam, Inside the Boaler also addresses some other aspects Black Box, 1998, London: King’s College [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

LETTERs TO THE EDITOR The G. H. Hardy Reader: edited by D.J. Albers, G.L. Alexanderson and W. Dunham, Cambridge University Press and MAA Press, 2016, pp 410, £34.99, US$49.99, ISBN 978-1107594647.

Once again: The G.H. Hardy Reader Almost everybody agrees that mathematics should reach out for a broader public understand- ing. Therefore The G.H. Hardy Reader, the richly illustrated collection of 38 documents by and about G.H. Hardy, the leading English mathematician of the first part of the 20th century and a moving spirit in the LMS, should be welcome. The American editors deliberately and explicitly aim at a broader readership including mathematics teachers and beyond. The docu- mentation is generally reliable but the aim of the book seems to have been misinterpreted in the review of the book published in the July issue of the LMS Newsletter. We welcome the great service to the historiography and public awareness of English mathematics done by the American editors in collaboration with Cambridge University Press. June Barrow-Green Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze 4 August 2016 Response I do not believe that I misinterpreted the aims of the 43 G.H. Hardy Reader. My review was for members of the Society, who usually have a degree in mathematics, but, like me, are not historiographers. I observed (contrary to

Donald J. Albers my initial expectation that I would receive the book from Gerald L. Alexanderson William Dunham Cambridge University Press in England) that the Reader EDITORS was principally published by the Mathematical Asso- ciation of America with its members in mind, and that THE G. H. HARDY the level of mathematics assumed was not higher than READER high school level. May I repeat that I welcome the book, although my detailed criticisms remain. Ben Garling 12 August 2016 LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

cambridge.org/com Publishing first-class mathematics research in the mainstream of pure mathematics 44 Covering all areas of pure mathematics including algebra, number theory, topology, algebraic and differential geometry and (geometric) analysis. Submit your paper to: compositio.nl/compositio.html [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

Faculty Position in Mathematics at the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

The School of Basic Sciences at (including email) of at least five EPFL invites applications for a referees and should be submitted tenure-track assistant profes- in pdf format via the website: sor in mathematics in all areas of pure mathematics. https://academicjobsonline.org/ ajo/jobs/7451 We seek candidates with an out- standing research record and the The evaluation process will start capacity to direct high quality re- on November 1st, 2016; however 45 search. We also expect a strong applications arriving after that commitment to excellence in date may also be considered. teaching at all levels. While ap- pointments are foreseen at the For additional information, please tenure-track assistant professor contact: level, in exceptional cases an ap- Professor Philippe Michel pointment at a more senior level Chair of the Mathematics Hiring may be considered. Committee Email: [email protected] Substantial start-up resources and Please include the tag research infrastructure will be “[Math2017]” in the subject field made available. of your email.

Applications including a letter The School of Basic Sciences ac- of motivation, curriculum vitae, tively aims to increase the pres- publication list, concise statement ence of women amongst its fac- of research and teaching interests, ulty, and female candidates are as well as the names and addresses strongly encouraged to apply. Calendar

LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 21 Sheffield Probability Day, Sheffield (461) This calendar lists Society meetings and other 22 Representations and Homology, University of mathematical events. Further information East Anglia (460) may be obtained from the appropriate LMS 23 CSAC Conference, Barcelona (460) Newsletter whose number is given in brackets. 26-29 Bayesian Networks and Argumentation in A fuller list is given on the Society’s website Evidence Analysis INI Workshop, Cambridge (459) (www.lms.ac.uk/content/calendar). Please send 26-30 Clay Research Workshops, Oxford (459) updates and corrections to [email protected]. 28 Clay Research Conference, Oxford (459)

SEPTEMBER 2016 OCTOBER 2016 13-15 Mathematics in the Regions and Nations, 1-2 Invariant Subspaces and Banach Algebras, Open University (461) Leeds (459) 27 Curves in Honour of Leibniz’s Tercentenary, 5-8 Hitchin 70, Aarhus (458) Gresham College, London 5-9 Combinatorics and Operators in Quantum 27 Data Sciences: Joint LMS meeting with the RSS Information Theory LMS Research School, Belfast and Fisher Memorial Trust, London (461) (458) 28 Privacy: Recent Developments at the Interface 5-9 Kronecker Coefficients and their Applications between Economics and Computer Science INI to Complexity Theory and Quantum Information Workshop, Cambridge (459) Theory, City University London (459) 6-7 Transpennine Topology Triangle, Manchester (458) november 2016 46 6-9 British Science Association, Swansea (460) 3 Probabilistic Formal Analysis of Software Usage 7 O-Minimality and Diophantine Geometry, Styles in the Wild, BCS-FACS Evening Seminar, Manchester (459) London (461) 10-12 Stochastic Analysis in honour of István 7-10 Statistical Modelling of Scientific Evidence Gyöngy’s 65th Birthday, Edinburgh (460) INI Workshop, Cambridge (460) 9-11 Hitchin 70, Oxford (458) 11 LMS Graduate Student Meeting, London 12 One Day Function Theory Meeting, De 11 LMS Annual General Meeting, London Morgan House, London (461) 28-2 Dec Advances in Ergodic Theory, Hyperbolic 12-15 LMS Midlands Regional Meeting and Dynamics & Statistical Law Workshop, ANU, Workshop, Birmingham (460) Canberra (461) 12-15 Geometric Models of Nuclear Matter, Kent (460) December 2016 12-16 Hitchin 70, Madrid (458) 3 BSHM Christmas Meeting, BMI, Birmingham 12-16 Data Linkage: Techniques, Challenges and (361) Applications INI Workshop, Cambridge (458) 5-8 Australian Mathematical Society Annual 13 Random Matrix Theory: Perspectives and Meeting, ANU, Canberra (461) Applications, Canterbury (459) 5-9 New Developments in Data Privacy INI 13-16 LMS Midlands Regional Meeting and Workshop, Cambridge (460) Workshop, Birmingham (461) 9-10 Random Matrix Theory Brunel-Bielefeld 15-16 Heilbronn Annual Conference, Bristol (459) Workshop, Brunel (461) 16-17 Mathematical Biography, A MacTutor 9-13 Nonlinear and Geometric Partial Differential Celebration, St Andrews (461) Equations Workshop, ANU, Canberra (461) 17 Directions in Computability Theory Meeting in 12-16 Dynamic Networks INI Workshop, Memory of Barry Cooper, Leeds (461) Cambridge (460) 18-23 Heidelberg Laureate Forum (454) 16-17 LMS Prospects in Mathematics Meeting, 19 Topics in SDEs and their Link to (S)PDEs, Leeds York (461) (460) 20 LMS South West & South Wales Regional 21 LMS Popular Lectures, Birmingham (461) Meeting, Bath [email protected] No. 461 September 2016

Save 25%

Harmonic and Topics in Graph Subharmonic Automorphisms Function and Theory on the Reconstruction Hyperbolic Ball Josef Lauri, University of Malta Manfred Stoll, University of South Carolina Raffaele Scapellato, Politecnico di Milano • Opens up the subject to a broader audience by developing • Illustrates several viewpoints of the material without requiring a symmetry in graphs within a knowledge of differential geometry single volume and Lie groups • Proposes new and unifying • Self-contained so that the reader approaches to several topics does not need to refer constantly • One of the few books to contain an to outside references extended treatment of the reconstruction • Contains exercises and open problems, problem in graph theory ideal for a graduate course

London Mathematical Society Lecture Notes Series, No. 431 London Mathematical Society Lecture Notes Series, No. 432 Paperback | 978-1-107-54148-1 | June 2016 | £50.00 £37.50 Paperback | 978-1-316-61044-2 | June 2016 | £50.00 £37.50

www.cambridge.org/lms431 www.cambridge.org/lms432 47

www.cambridge.org/maths

ADVERTISE IN THE LMS NEWSLETTER

To advertise in this LMS Newsletter contact Susan Oakes ([email protected]). LMS Newsletter rates (plus VAT where applicable):

Commercial Non-commercial mono colour mono colour Full page £475.00 £540.00 £370.00 £415.00 Half page £255.00 £295.00 £195.00 £215.00 Quarter page £145.00 £165.00 £105.00 £115.00

Discounts of 10% will be given for bookings of six issues (within a period of one year) and 15% will be given for 12 months (11 issues). Examples: see pages 13, 45 and 47. Further details, including format and dimensions, are at: http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk/rate-card/ LMS POPULAR LECTURES 2016 held on 29 June 2016 at the Institute of Eduction, London (report on page 29)

Audience participation Alice Rogers, Chair of LMS Education Committee

Heather Harrington (University of Oxford) The Shape of Data in Biology

Julia Wolf (University of Bristol) One, Two, Red, Blue