Living Proof: the Isaac Newton Institute podcast

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In the latest episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel speaks to Professor Kevin Buzzard of Imperial College London. Inspired by a lecture given by Thomas Hales at INI’s Big Proof (https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/bpr/) programme in 2017, Kevin has spent the past seven years working alongside fellow enthusiasts on the “Maths Library” project. In this conversation he explains the project in detail, touching on why the programming language of Lean was chosen, and how it interacts with his recent five-year grant to check the proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem.

If you have been inspired by Kevin’s story, make sure to visit the October 2024 INI research programme Big Specification (https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/bsp/), much of which will be available to watch via live stream on newton.ac.uk

00:00 - Introduction

00:48 - Welcome, explaining the concept behind the “Maths Library”, digitising mathematics

04:20 - “It’s like asking if a submarine can swim”

07:55 - Harnessing the involvement of undergraduates

09:45 - Discussing the motivation, end goals and challenges of the project

17:28 - “The other question is: how far is it going to go? This is an ongoing topic of debate”

20:21 - A minimal, pessimistic prediction of expected progress in 10 years’ time

29:30 - A five-year grant to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem

36:55 - “I’d like to think I’m making the proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem more beautiful”

38:48 - “The goal is to make tools that, together with AI techniques, will turn mathematics on its head”

40:10 - Discussing “Lean” as a functional programming language

44:50 - “The INI Big Proof programme (2017) changed my life completely” (https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/bpr/)

52:50 - “If you hadn’t streamed it, I never would have seen it”, a transformation from a “second-rate number theorist” to business class flights, four-star hotels and chauffeur-driven cars on an international lecture tour

54:48 - “I still wake up every morning thinking ‘I want to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem’”

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Established in 2021, the INI Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics scheme enables “exceptional early career researchers in the mathematical sciences” to gain “experience, independence and new connections on their way to a successful academic career”.

In this episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel speaks to Dr Luke Davis to learn about his journey through mathematics so far, and to find out what being awarded this Fellowship – which involves spending six months on the INI research programme “Stochastic systems for anomalous diffusion” – means to him personally.

00:00 - Introduction

00:38 - Welcome

01:55 - Taking part in “Stochastic systems for anomalous diffusion” (https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/ssd/)

05:54 - What does an early career researcher bring to an INI research programme? And what can they gain?

10:50 - Why transition from physics to mathematics?

13:40 - The experience of working at INI, “a place engineered for people to think, to talk”

15:04 - The future, the University of Edinburgh

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In this episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel is joined by three guests: Daniel Gardham (Surrey), Katherine Benjamin (Oxford), and Francisco de Melo Virissimo (LSE), all of whom won medals as podium finishers at the 2024 STEM for Britain awards at the UK parliament in March. The conversation covers their success in the highly competitive poster exhibition, how it felt to present their mathematical research to politicians and the public, and what the future holds for each of them from this point onwards.

> https://stemforbritain.org.uk/
> https://www.newton.ac.uk/news/ini-news/stem-for-britain-winners-2024/

00:00 - Introduction
02:20 - How does it feel to have won medals at STEM for Britain?
04:40 - What attracted you to the event?
08:10 - What’s it like presenting mathematical research to MPs and politicians?
12:10 - Learning to communicate key information quickly and more efficiently, and comparisons with academic settings
16:40 - Could all academics benefit from this kind of experience?
19:00 - How would pure maths fare at en event such as STEM for Britain?
20:50 - A strong field of finalist posters, but little time to enjoy them
23:30 - The experience of visiting Parliament and the atmosphere of the event
27:27 - What does the future hold for each of you?

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Now in its third year, the INI Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics scheme enables “exceptional early career researchers in the mathematical sciences” to gain “experience, independence and new connections on their way to a successful academic career”. 

In this episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel speak to Dr Swapnil Jaideo (SJ) Kole to learn about her journey through mathematics so far, and to find out what being awarded this Fellowship – which involves spending three months on the INI research programme "New statistical physics in living matter: non equilibrium states under adaptive control"  and nine months working with Professor Michael Cates at Cambridge University’s Department for Applied Maths and Theoretical Physics  – means to her personally.

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From 8-12 January 2024, the "Equivariant methods in geometry" took place in INI's main seminar room in Cambridge, UK. So far, so routine procedure. However, this workshop had the unique twist of being run in parallel with a team at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Linked by audio-visual streaming connections, the two events were remotely connected and operated as one throughout the week.

Following successful interactions across continents (on top of the usual collaborations taking place at the Cambridge base), Dan Aspel caught up with organisers and participants: Victoria Hoskins, Praise Adeyemo, Joshua Jackson and Dominic Bunnett to find out how the partnership came about, and how others could do the same with their own research meetings.

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In this short episode, Dan Aspel speaks to Professor Ben Allanach (Cambridge, CERN) about his talk "The Force Awakens: Quantum Collisions" which he'll be delivering in INI's main seminar room for this year's Cambridge Festival.

Taking place on Saturday 23 March at 11:00, the talk is in fact now sold out. However, if you'd like to join the waiting list for any cancelled tickets you can do so here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-force-awakens-quantum-collisions-tickets-810293639087

... and remember that even if you aren't able to attend in person, the talk will be streamed live on our site and made available to view after the event. So make sure to bookmark the following two links.

Live stream: newton.ac.uk/news/watch-live
Recording: newton.ac.uk/outreach/ongoing-initiatives/cambridge-festival

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Episode published 30/01/24 

In February 2022, Olena Domanska and her family left their home in Ukraine. The ongoing Russian invasion has meant that they are yet to return to the world they left behind. However, through her engagement with INI's Solidarity for mathematicians programme, she and her family are currently based near the University of Manchester where she is continuing her work on neural networks "at the intercept of artificial intelligence and differential equations". 

In this podcast, Olena - mother to five children, including an eight-month-old daughter - talks through her experience of the Solidarity programme and how it has made the continuation of her career possible under trying circumstances.

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Episode published: 20/11/23 

Thanks to the generous support of the Simons Foundation, the INI-Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics is now in its second year of enabling “exceptional early career researchers in the mathematical sciences” to gain “experience, independence and new connections on their way to a successful academic career”. 

In this episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel speak to Dr Samuel Stark to learn about his journey through mathematics so far, and to find out what being awarded this Fellowship – which involves spending six months on an INI research programme and six months working at Cambridge University’s Faculty of Maths – means to him personally.

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Episode published: 10/10/23 

Thanks to the generous support of the Simons Foundation, the INI-Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics is now in its second year of enabling “exceptional early career researchers in the mathematical sciences” to gain “experience, independence and new connections on their way to a successful academic career”. 

In this episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel speak to Dr Zhao-He Watse Sybesma to learn about his journey through mathematics so far, and to find out what being awarded this Fellowship – which involves spending six months on an INI research programme and six months working at Cambridge University’s Faculty of Maths – means to him personally.

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Episode published: 09/10/23 

Thanks to the generous support of the Simons Foundation, the INI-Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics is now in its second year of enabling “exceptional early career researchers in the mathematical sciences” to gain “experience, independence and new connections on their way to a successful academic career”. 

In this episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel speak to Dr Paul Pruzina to learn about his journey through mathematics so far, and to find out what being awarded this Fellowship – which involves spending six months on an INI research programme and six months working at Cambridge University’s Faculty of Maths – means to him personally.