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The World of Isaac Newton

This illustrated lecture will cover Newton's life and his mathematical and scientific labours in the context of 17th-century England.

Number Theory: Queen of Mathematics

Number theory is the branch of mathematics that’s primarily concerned with our counting numbers, 1, 2, 3, etc., and in particular the prime numbers, the ‘building blocks’ of our number system. The subject dates back to the ancient Greeks and is notable for its intrinsic beauty and elegance.

Equations That Have Changed The World

This final lecture will celebrate some of the great mathematical equations, and related algorithms, which have both changed the world as we know it and which are likely to change it in the future.

The Art of Maths

Mathematics and art are more similar than is commonly thought. Each is concerned with the process of being highly creative with abstract objects and of producing everlasting work of great aesthetic beauty.

Engineering: Archimedes of Syracuse

In the 3rd century BCE, the Sicilian polymath Archimedes significantly advanced human understanding of mathematics, geometry and astronomy.

Great Mathematical Myths

I will start by looking at the mythology that has gathered around the Golden Ratio, and also consider the fairness of cake-cutting, and changing choices in the Monty Hall problem.

Making New Plants: A History

This lecture examines the work of Hugo de Vries, a Dutch botanist who was one of the first to claim that science would allow plants and animals to be designed to order.

Can Maths Save The Whales and Cure Cancer?

Saving the whales and curing cancer are two of the great challenges of the present day, and mathematics has a part to play in addressing them.

Gardens of Empire: The Role of Kew and Colonial Botanic Gardens

Sydney’s botanic garden, founded in the early nineteenth century, was expected to ship new plants 'home' to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, from where they could be transplanted to other colonial gardens, to see if they could become valuable new crops to enrich the British Empire.

Maths and Voting

In this talk we use mathematics to look at these flaws and answer associated questions (eg. voting trends and gerrymandering). For a bit of light relief we will see how the same principles work in the Eurovision Song Contest.

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