Maths Calendar_Layout 1 14/12/2015 18:09 Page 1 Irish Mathematics Calendar 2016 Maths Calendar_Layout 1 14/12/2015 18:09 Page 2 Des MacHale Annette Pilkington was born 28 January in Castlebar, Mayo, and was educated at UCG and the was born 16 January in Daingean, Offaly. She University of Keele. He has spent his entire career at UCC, working in group was educated at UCD and at the University of and ring theory. He wrote the definitive biography of George Boole, the first Notre Dame, where she now teaches. She is an Prof of Maths at what was then Queen's College Cork. He has also authored algebraist whose research interests are in a large number of books on puzzles and humour. classical groups, K-theory, and representation theory. Mathematical physicist Sheila Tinney (née Power, 1918-2010) Ken Houston was born 15 January in Galway, where her father was professor was born 13 January in Belfast, and was educated at of maths. She was educated at UCD and the University of QUB. He taught at UU Jordanstown for over 3 Edinburgh, becoming the first Irish woman to get a doctorate in decades, where he aimed to encourage in mathematics mathematical science. She worked at UCD, introducing undergrads the art of mathematical modelling and to generations of students to quantum physics. adopt this as their professional "Way of Life," and he published a lot in this area. His book Creators of Mathematics: The Irish Connection is essential reading. Robert Boyle (1627-1691) Brendan Goldsmith was born 22 January in Belfast, was born 25 January in Lismore, Waterford, and as a child was and was educated at QUB and Oxford. He started his educated privately and at Eton, as well as in Italy. He was one of career at Kevin Street, and in time became the first the most important figures of the period known as the Scientific president of the new Dublin Institute of Technology. He Revolution, and is best known for Boyle's law which describes is an algebraist by training, and has supervised several the inversely proportional relationship between the pressure and doctoral theses. volume of a gas. 1. The Irish Mathematics Teachers' Association was founded 2 Jan 1964. The IMTA aims to further the study and teaching of mathematics and to foster co-operation between teachers of mathematics at all levels. All those interested in mathematics and mathematics education may apply for membership, but it mainly comprises teachers of mathematics at post-primary level. 2. BT Young Scientist takes place each year in the RDS, Dublin in early January. Schools from all over Ireland compete in many diverse areas of science and mathematics. In January 2014, Paul Clarke achieved great success in the competition with his project “Contributions to cyclic graph theory.” He is now pursuing mathematical studies at Cambridge. Maths Calendar_Layout 1 14/12/2015 18:09 Page 3 JANUARY 2016 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 123New Year’s Day Walter Heitler (1904-1981) Irish Mathematics Teachers' Association founded, 1964 456 78 9 10 John Cosgrave BTYSTE BTYSTE BTYSTE 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Sean Tobin Colm Ó Muircheartaigh Brian McMaster Ken Houston Sheila Power (1918-2010) Annette Pilkington 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Brendan Goldsmith 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Deadline for registration for John Hooper Medal Robert Boyle (1627-1691) Des MacHale for Statistics 2016 Maths Calendar_Layout 1 14/12/2015 18:09 Page 4 Sophie Bryant (nee Willock, 1850-1922), John Ryan was born 15 February in Dublin. She earned was born 27 February in Holycross, Tipperary. His degrees from the Univ of London in both mental mathematics education was all completed at UCC. For and moral philosophy and maths. She taught at over thirty years he’s been a missionary priest working several schools and wrote many books on diverse in Malawi. He’s currently also teaching at Mzuzu topics. She was the first woman to have a paper University, specialising in coding theory. published in the Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society. Political economist and statistician Francis Ysidro Siobhan Vernon (nee O'Shea, 1932-2002) Edgeworth (1845-1926) was born 8 February in was born 24 February in Macroom, Cork. After Edgeworthstown, Longford. He didn’t study maths and completing her BSc and MSc at UCC, she taught economics until after he’d earned degrees in languages and there for over 30 years. Her 1964 PhD in law from TCD and Oxford, but later published a lot in mathematical analysis, also from UCC, is believed to mathematical economics. be the first doctorate in pure mathematics earned by an Irish woman. Informatics and computing pioneer Gordon Foster (1921-2010) was born 24 February in Belfast, and was educated at QUB and at Mathematics education expert Elizabeth Oldham Oxford. His career included stints at Bletchley Park, the University of was born 11 February in Sheffield, of Irish parents. She was Manchester (alongside Alan Turing), the London School of Economics educated at TCD, where she has spent most of her career in and many years at TCD. He devised a 9-digit code upon which the the School of Education. She has been involved in several International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is based, and later worked studies by the Educational Research Centre. Her work relates to connect remote areas of the world to the internet. to mathematics curriculum and to teaching and learning mathematics. Dara Ó Briain was born on the 4th February 1972. This Irish-born presenter and comedian is well known for his efforts to popularise maths and science with shows such as“School of Hard Sums,” and “Dara Ó Briain’s Science Club”. Maths Calendar_Layout 1 14/12/2015 18:09 Page 5 FEBRUARY 2016 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 12 34 5 67 Terry Maguire Cornelius Lanczos (1893-1974) Dara Ó Briain Bartholomew Lloyd (1772-1837) 89 10 11 12 13 14 Francis Edgeworth (1845-1926) Agnes Mary Clerke (1842-1907) Elizabeth Oldham Sean Dineen 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Sophie Willock (1850-1922) George Stoney (1826-1911) Petros Florides Therese Dooley Joseph Varilly David Lewis 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Gordon Foster (1921–2010) Siobhan O'Shea (1932-2002) John O'Donoghue James McConnell (1915-1999) John Ryan Engineers Week 29 Engineers Week Maths Calendar_Layout 1 14/12/2015 18:09 Page 6 Mathematical physicist Lochlainn O'Raifeartaigh Mathematical physicist John Lighton Synge (1897-1995) (1933-2000) was born 11 March in Dublin. Educated at was born 23 March in Dublin. Educated at TCD, he taught UCD and the University of Zürich, he worked for over 30 there and at the University of Toronto, as well as in the USA, years at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. He was finishing his career at the Dublin Institute for Advanced particularly interested in the application of symmetries in Studies. He wrote 11 books. His daughter Cathleen Morawetz particle physics, and he wrote five books. was educated in Canada and had a long and successful mathematical career at the Courant Institute. Mathematician, geophysicist and social activist Gerry Gardner (1926-2009) Aisling McCluskey was born 2 March in Tullamore, Offaly. Educated at was born in Belfast on the Ides of March, and was TCD and Princeton, he worked in the USA in the oil educated at QUB. She is a topologist and teaches and natural gas industries. A statistical analysis of at NUI Galway. She recently co-authored a book his was used in a US Supreme Court decision. on undergraduate topology with Brian McMaster from QUB. Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin Philosopher George Berkeley was born 16 March and is from Carnacon, was born 12 March 1685 in Thomastown, Kilkenny. A Church Mayo. She studied theoretical physics at UCD, and recently of Ireland bishop, he was educated at TCD and wrote a critique of completed a doctorate in mathematics education in TCD. the foundations of calculus. The University of California at She has taught mathematics and physics at secondary level, Berkeley is named after him (though pronounced differently). and now lectures in mathematics pedagogy at UCD. She is also an experienced radio and TV broadcaster. Computus: Easter falls on 27 March this year. It was 5 April last year. Why does it vary from year to year? It is determined by astronomical considerations, and the monasteries in early medieval Ireland (circa 600-850) were renowned throughout Europe for this study of calendar, known as the computus. For more information, see the work of Prof. Dáibhí Ó Cróinín & Dr Daniel McCarthy. Maths Calendar_Layout 1 14/12/2015 18:09 Page 7 MARCH 2016 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 123456 Gerry Gardner (1926-2009) Nora Ni Chuiv Iggy Ó Muircheartaigh Engineers Week Engineers Week Engineers Week Engineers Week Engineers Week 78 910 11 12 13 Eugene Gath Lochlainn O'Raifeartaigh (1933-2000) George Berkeley (1685-1753) 14 15 16 17 St. Patrick’s Day 18 19 20 Noon deadline for receiving posters for John Hooper Medal Aisling McCluskey Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin Michael P. Tuite for Statistics 2016 Good Friday Easter Sunday 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Summertime Begins Neil Hallinan John L. Synge (1897-1995) 28 Easter Monday 29 30 31 Maths Calendar_Layout 1 14/12/2015 18:09 Page 8 Statistician Roy Geary (1896-1983) was born 11 April in Dublin. After studying at UCD and Statistician Sally McClean the Sorbonne, he had a long career in the Department was born 30 Apr in Belfast, was born 30 April in of Industry and Commerce, before leading both the Belfast and was educated at QUB and Cardiff.