NEWSLETTER Issue: 488 - May 2020
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i “"NLMS_488 (Katherine Wright’s conicted copy 2020-04-20)"” — 2020/4/21 — 10:17 — page 1 — #1 i i i NEWSLETTER Issue: 488 - May 2020 PHILIPPA 2520 MATHS FAWCETT ANTS FOR MEETS DYLAN ARTS i i i i i “"NLMS_488 (Katherine Wright’s conicted copy 2020-04-20)"” — 2020/4/21 — 10:17 — page 2 — #2 i i i EDITOR-IN-CHIEF COPYRIGHT NOTICE Eleanor Lingham (Sheeld Hallam University) News items and notices in the Newsletter may [email protected] be freely used elsewhere unless otherwise stated, although attribution is requested when reproducing whole articles. Contributions to EDITORIAL BOARD the Newsletter are made under a non-exclusive June Barrow-Green (Open University) licence; please contact the author or David Chillingworth (University of Southampton) photographer for the rights to reproduce. Jessica Enright (University of Glasgow) The LMS cannot accept responsibility for the Jonathan Fraser (University of St Andrews) accuracy of information in the Newsletter. Views Jelena Grbic´ (University of Southampton) expressed do not necessarily represent the Cathy Hobbs (UWE) views or policy of the Editorial Team or London Thomas Hudson (University of Warwick) Mathematical Society. Stephen Huggett Adam Johansen (University of Warwick) ISSN: 2516-3841 (Print) Aditi Kar (Royal Holloway University) ISSN: 2516-385X (Online) Mark McCartney (Ulster University) DOI: 10.1112/NLMS Susan Oakes (London Mathematical Society) Andrew Wade (Durham University) Mike Whittaker (University of Glasgow) NEWSLETTER WEBSITE Early Career Content Editor: Jelena Grbic´ The Newsletter is freely available electronically News Editor: Susan Oakes at lms.ac.uk/publications/lms-newsletter. Reviews Editor: Mark McCartney MEMBERSHIP CORRESPONDENTS AND STAFF Joining the LMS is a straightforward process. For membership details see lms.ac.uk/membership. LMS/EMS Correspondent: David Chillingworth Policy Digest: John Johnston Production: Katherine Wright SUBMISSIONS Printing: Holbrooks Printers Ltd The Newsletter welcomes submissions of feature content, including mathematical articles, EDITORIAL OFFICE career related articles, and microtheses, from members and non-members. Submission London Mathematical Society guidelines and LaTeX templates can be found at De Morgan House lms.ac.uk/publications/submit-to-the-lms-newsletter. 57–58 Russell Square London WC1B 4HS Feature content should be submitted to the [email protected] editor-in-chief at [email protected]. Charity registration number: 252660 News items should be sent to [email protected]. Notices of events should be prepared using the COVER IMAGE template at lms.ac.uk/publications/lms-newsletter and sent to [email protected]. Sounds of Surface: an art installation by Jenny Hibberd & Andrew Johnston For advertising rates and guidelines see Photo credit: Dean Leavers lms.ac.uk/publications/advertise-in-the-lms-newsletter. i i i i i “"NLMS_488 (Katherine Wright’s conicted copy 2020-04-20)"” — 2020/4/21 — 10:17 — page 3 — #3 i i i CONTENTS NEWS The latest from the LMS and elsewhere 4 LMS BUSINESS Reports from the LMS 14 FEATURES The Hong Kong Mathematical Society 17 On being LMS President 18 The First Woman Senior Wrangler 21 2520 Ants for Dylan 28 Maths Meets Arts 31 Mathematics News Flash 36 EARLY CAREER Maths and Mingle 38 Microthesis: Massey Products in Moment–Angle Complexes 40 REVIEWS From the bookshelf 42 OBITUARIES In memoriam 47 EVENTS Latest announcements 51 CALENDAR All forthcoming events 52 i i i i i “"NLMS_488 (Katherine Wright’s conflicted copy 2020-04-20)"” — 2020/4/21 — 10:17 — page 4 — #4 i i i 4 NEWS FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Well here we all are at the start of May — the sun is funding? Application deadlines are ongoing — see the shining, the birds are singing and the world is so very EPSRC New Horizons call — and, who could believe it, changed. Who knew that these changes were coming? you might actually have a leisurely amount of time to Who could have predicted that the whole world (almost) put your application together. would come to a standstill — that people would stay at home, that universities would empty, that conferences What else? Will we join the coronavirus fight? Will we would cease, that lecturing would be via a screen, and finally read that book that has been on the shelf for exams via the internet? nearly a decade? Will we take the time to brush up on that bit of maths (or heavens, statistics!) that could be We could fill this Newsletter with what has stopped, useful? Will we think about joining a Society committee what has been affected, and what has changed. But — or write an article for the Newsletter? (Please do.) let’s try and think of the positives — potentially, we Will we reconnect with our hobbies (remember those?) have more time to think; more time of quiet; more time and other interests? Have a look at Katrin Leschke’s to reflect — although, perhaps, as Jonathan Fraser’s article for inspiration. article describes, this isn’t the case for all of us. While many conferences have been cancelled or postponed, And if none of these suggestions appeal — remember lots of us have finally bitten the ‘online’ bullet (yes, — there is always the Riemann Hypothesis. I have been quite slow to the party) and can now virtually connect as well as anyone. And what about Eleanor Lingham Editor-in-Chief LMS NEWS Caroline Wallace decide on the allocation of users to channels. Caroline remains a Chartered Engineer, and a member of the IET and IMechE. Caroline’s career then took her into the economic regulation of telecoms networks, and from there to public interest regulation in general. She regards it as crucially important that such regulation is informed by technical expertise. For the last several years Caroline has been the Strategy Director at the Legal Services Board, which has made her very familiar both with managing multi-disciplinary teams and with the legal system. Caroline Wallace is the Society’s new Executive Secretary. She was born in New Zealand, where at the Now she is very pleased to have come back into the age of 8 she noticed the non-uniform gradations on a scientific world, and started as the LMS Executive wedge-shaped rain gauge and was intrigued to know Secretary on 6 April. She says, “I am very impressed by how the spacings were worked out. the calibre of people at the LMS, and by its reputation and history. I am keen to make a contribution to the A decade later Caroline became a student at important work the Society does for mathematics.” Cambridge, graduating with a first in Engineering. She worked for some time as an engineer. For example, she was the radio network capacity manager for a Stephen Huggett telecoms company, where she used queueing theory to LMS General Secretary i i i i i “"NLMS_488 (Katherine Wright’s conicted copy 2020-04-20)"” — 2020/4/21 — 10:17 — page 5 — #5 i i i NEWS 5 Open Access publishing in the UK Eligible corresponding authors whose papers are accepted for the Bulletin, Journal, Proceedings, The LMS is continuing to monitor and, where Transactions, Journal of Topology and Mathematika appropriate, respond to changes within the academic will be automatically presented with the option of publishing landscape, including the recent increased publishing the version of record of their article Open drive by funders toward Open Access outputs. Access under a Creative Commons licence. Specific guidance can be found at tiny.cc/Wiley_Jisc. In April 2020, the Society responded to a consultation on a draft Open Access policy for peer-reviewed Similar arrangements have previously been negotiated research articles and academic books that result from between Jisc and a number of other academic research supported by UK Research and Innovation publishers. These include Cambridge University Press (UKRI). The Society’s response reflected its role as a and Institute of Physics Publishing, with whom the representative of the UK mathematics community and Society also has publishing partnerships. as a publisher. Details of the UKRI Open Access Review can be found on their website at tiny.cc/UKRI_OA. These new agreements, which are increasingly being requested by and negotiated with international library Recently, a ‘read and publish’ agreement was struck consortia, represent one way in which many publishers between Jisc (the UK’s research and education are proposing to gradually transition towards Open non-profit organisation that arranges licences and Access in a sustainable fashion. digital content agreements on behalf of higher education institutes), and Wiley (the Society’s partner The Society is currently preparing its response to a in the production, hosting and distribution of six LMS consultation (which closes on 29 May) on a draft Open journals). Access policy for peer-reviewed research articles and academic books that result from research supported As well as being able to read all of Wiley’s journals, by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). researchers from 138 Jisc member institutions will be eligible to publish Open Access in hybrid and fully Open Access journals published by Wiley at no direct John Hunton cost to the author(s) or their institutions. LMS Publications Secretary OTHER NEWS Clay Research Fellows 2020 IMA Catherine Richards Prize The best article in Mathematics Today (published by The Clay Mathematics Institute is pleased to the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications) announce that Amol Aggarwal and Yang Li have been is awarded the Catherine Richards Prize each year. awarded Clay Research Fellowships. Dr Mark McCartney (University of Ulster) was awarded the prize for Fluids, Fluorescence and a Hat Full of Beetles Amol Aggarwal will receive his PhD in 2020 from which was published to celebrate the bicentenary of Harvard University, where he has been advised the birth of George Gabriel Stokes.