2004-5 Events
Here is a list of events from the last academic year to give you an idea of what the Society does.
Easter 2005Social: Garden Party
Tuesday 21st June 2005
This year, the Archimedeans' Garden Party was bigger and better than ever. Held in the fabulous surroundings of the Harvey Court gardens, attractions included a barbecue (with ample vegetarian options), Trinity's famous brown bread ice-cream and Pimms and lemonade, as well as other summery food, drinks and games.
Photos available here. Social: Evening punt trip to Grantchester
Wednesday 15th June 2005
We headed down to the Green Man in Grantchester, and, despite several distractions on the way, managed to get to the pub in time for food and drinks.
Photos available here. Social: Croquet in Oxford
(against The Invariants — Oxford University Mathematical Society)
Saturday 21st May 2005
Undeterred by heavy hail, we made our way to Oxford to take on the Invariants at croquet, joining them for lunch and tea as well.
Photos available here. Seminars for Undergraduates: Dr Konstantin Ardakov
Iwasawa Algebras
Friday 20th May 2005
Dr Konstantin Ardakov is currently the Sir Robert and Lady Clayton Junior Research Fellow at Christ's College, Cambridge. His research interests are in noncommutative Noetherian rings, and in particular in Iwasawa algebras. Social: Croquet on the Backs
Saturday 14th May 2005
In preparation for our trip to Oxford the following Saturday, we held a practice session on the backs to have a go at playing the game (and to learn the rules!). Seminars for Undergraduates: David Kagan
Quantum Field Theory
Friday 13th May 2005
David Kagan is currently studying for a PhD under the supervision of Dr Jonathan Evans. His work is on integrability of superstring theories, and he will be talking on the subject of quantum field theory.
Lent 2005Social: Problems Drive
(with the Invariants — Oxford University Mathematical Society)
Saturday 26th February 2005
The Invariants joined us for this year's Problems Drive, adding an extra edge to the competition. Prizes included a bottle of port for the winners and "an arbitrary strange object" for the pair coming up with the most ludicrous answer. Speaker Meeting: Prof Ian Grant
Relativistic Matters
Thursday 10th March 2005
Relativistic quantum theory is as important for modelling the properties of ordinary matter — atoms, molecule and solids — as for the more highly publicised field of high energy particle physics. I shall discuss the reasons for this along with some of the history of relativistic atomic and molecular electronic structure theory, its Cambridge beginnings, and some of the myths surrounding the subject. Seminars for Undergraduates: Mr Aaron Lauda
Frobenius algebras and topological quantum field theory
Friday 18th February 2005
The first meeting of our new Seminars for Undergraduates Subgroup, this seminar will both introduce new ideas and subjects from current research, and show what research life involves. Speaker Meeting: Prof Helen Byrne (Nottingham)
Maths in Medicine — Applications to Solid Tumour Growth
Wednesday 16th February 2005
The use of mathematics to provide insight into problems of real biomedical interest is a rapidly expanding area of research. This interest has, to some extent, been stimulated by the natural position of mathematics as a method for combining data from different types of experiments that are relevant to the same physical system. In this talk I will illustrate the type of insight that mathematics can apply by focusing on a couple of problems associated with the growth and treatment of solid tumours. Social: Triennial Dinner
Friday 4th January 2005
Held in Emmanuel, this was a sumputuous three course dinner, followed by coffee. For the diners' entertainment, Dr Imre Leader gave an after–dinner speech, and the Committee performed a short item.
Photos available here. Speaker Meeting: Prof Henrik Jensen (Imperial)
Tangled Nature: a model of co-evolution of many interacting organisms
Friday 28th January 2005
We consider an Individual Based model of evolution. Species emergence as segregation of the population on to discrete positions in a hyper cubical genotype space. The model emphasises interaction between coexisting genotypes. Although the rate of the micro dynamics, consisting of reproduction and killing of individuals, is essentially constant; the macro dynamics is punctuated. The macro evolution consists of the creation and annihilation of configurations in genotype space equivalent to sequences of different eco systems. We review the definition of the model and results concerning distribution of lifetimes of individuals, genotypes and configurations. We discuss the non stationarity of the model and how this agrees with the fossil record. Finally we describe how the model is able to produce species abundance distributions and species area relationships of a form qualitatively in agreement with observation on real eco systems.
Michaelmas 2004Social: Christmas Party
(with Trinity Maths Society)
Friday 3rd December
This provided fun, merriment, mince pies, mulled wine, food and refreshments for members, along with some interesting games of Twister and Jenga. Social: Puzzles Hunt
Friday 3rd December
A trail around Trinity, with several puzzles and one story, let us test our wits and mathematical story–writing abilities. Speaker Meeting: Prof John Conway (FRS)
How to Beat Children at their Own Games
Wednesday 1st December 2004
Professor Conway is the inventor of the Game of Life, and is world-renowned as an excellent speaker as well as a leading mathematician. Having received more distinguished Mathematical prizes than can be listed here, he currently holds the von Neumann Chair of Mathematics at Princeton University. Speaker Meeting: Dr Simon Singh
Risk, Chance, Gambling and Probability
Friday 26th November 2004
The author of "Fermat's Last Theorem", "The Code Book" and "Big Bang" will explore a whole series of everyday situations where probability plays a role, from the casino to the court room, from the doctor's surgery to the paranormal. In particular, he will be offering bets to the audience to assess how good we are at working out probabilities. Make the right choice and you could walk away £20 better off. Speaker Meeting: Prof Brian Bowditch (Southampton)
The topology of 3–dimensional space
Friday 29th October 2004
The last two or three years have seen a significant advance in our understanding of 3-dimensional spaces. Some of this has hit the headlines with Perelman's announcement of the proof of the Poincaré conjecture — a very basic question now 100 years old. Meanwhile there have been major developments in several other directions. The basic ideas are very geometrical, and I hope to give some general impression of what all the excitement has been about. Speaker Meeting: Prof Marcus du Sautoy (Oxford)
The music of the primes
Friday 15th October 2004
Why did Beckham choose the number 23 shirt? How is 17 the key to the evolutionary survival of a strange species of cicada? Prime numbers are the atoms of arithmetic — the hydrogen and oxygen of the world of numbers. Despite their fundamental importance to mathematics, they represent one of the most tantalising enigmas in the pursuit of human knowledge. In 1859, the German mathematician Bernhard Riemann put forward an idea - a hypothesis - that seemed to reveal a magical harmony at work in the numerical landscape. A million dollars now awaits the person who can unravel the mystery of the hidden music that might explain the cacophony of the primes.
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