The Random Sample

Louise Ryan is one of ACEMS Chief Investigators, and like many of ACEMS’ CIs she has had an amazing career of unlikely and unplanned opportunities. In this episode Jessie Roberts chats with Louise about her career and what advice she has for PhD students and early career researchers.
In addition to her role in ACEMS, Louise is a Distinguished Professor of Statistics at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Adjunct Professor of Biostatistics at Harvard University, and is President of the International Biometric Society (IBS). The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

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Why aren’t there more women in maths or in STEM? What’s being done about that, and why is it that so important?
In this episode, Dr Giang Nguyen and ACEMS PhD Student Caitlin Gray chat with one of Australia’s best known mathematicians, a woman who has blazed a trail for others to follow her: Prof Nalini Joshi from The University of Sydney. They also explore why a maths education is more important now than ever.
The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’ve probably all heard of STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics—and that it is important that our younger generations become proficient in these skills if they are going to be adequately armed to participate in the workforces of the future. Well as you may have already figured out if you have listened to any of our other podcasts, we focus on the M as in Mathematics.
But have you ever wondered what kind of career a focus on mathematics would give you?
In this episode, Steve Psaltis chats with Ellie Foxcroft, an expert in optimisation with Biarri. The pair will be discussing exactly what that means. How Ellie uses mathematics, and why mathematics and statistics is important in everyday life.
The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the average person listening to news stories about the latest poll or what conclusions have been drawn from one survey or another, it’s easy to take that information at face value. But should you? Should you be more sceptical about the conclusions these claim to show us? In this episode, ACEMS Deputy Director Scott Sisson chats with expert statistician Melanie Black from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and QUT Associate Professor Adrian Barnett about how surveys work, why we need them, and what you need to look out for before you’re convinced.
The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.
For further resources, visit the shownotes at https://acems.org.au/podcast/episode4-surveys

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How does your phone, computer know the word that you are trying to type and autocorrects for you? How do online shops suggest other books etc for you to buy?Jono Tuke is an ex-vet and now a statistician at ACMES. His area of focus is applied statistics covering such diverse topics as medical statistics, social networks and ancient DNA. He is passionate about trying to convince everyone that statistics can be done and should be done by everyone.In this episode, Jono explains distances and how they can be used in places you had no idea they could be, and then he chats with Ben Rohrlach on how DNA was used to confirm the connection to country of Australian aboriginals.
The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.
For further resources, visit the shownotes at https://acems.org.au/podcast/episode3-distance

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In 1960, Australian mathematician AG Doig co-authored a paper titled ‘An Automatic Method for Solving Discrete Programming Problems’. This became a seminal paper in the field of linear programming. The paper created a tool that allowed computers to do something they were uniquely good at: solving optimisation problems. As computing has become more and more powerful, this tool has become widely used in transport logistics, shift rostering, and even to assist in cancer radiotherapy decisions.
In this episode Kate Lowry speaks with the author of this paper, AG Doig, or as most people know her, Alison Harcourt about her life as a mathematician in Australia.
The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.
For further resources, visit the shownotes at https://acems.org.au/podcast/episode2-alison-harcourt

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“It could happen to you”, so the saying goes, and it certainly has happened to some. But how likely is it, really, that you’ll win big by playing the lottery, poker machines, or casino games? Is it worth playing the same game over and over, waiting for the big one? Ever wondered how casinos can afford all the glitz?
In this episode, our Director Peter Taylor and Outreach Officer Anita Ponsaing talk about gambling – from a mathematician’s point of view. For further resources, visit the shownotes at https://acems.org.au/podcast/episode1-gambling
The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.