The Random Sample

Why do some people struggle with maths? In this episode, we chat with Dr Jacob Paul from The University of Melbourne’s School of Psychological Sciences, where he leads the Maths at Human Scale Lab. The focus of his research is to understand maths learning disorders, including something called dyscalculia. Jacob tells us what it means for children and adults with dyscalculia and what that looks like in their lives. Plus, what he’s doing to raise awareness and improve support for people who struggle with it. Our host is Cynthia Huang, a PhD Candidate at Monash University in the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics.

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This episode of The Random Sample gives you a glimpse into some of the mathematics and physics that is used to understand the building blocks of the universe. A research program at the MATRIX mathematical research institute earlier this year explored the deep connections between mathematics, quantum field theory, and string theory. One of the organisers of that research program was Professor Alessandro Sfondrini from the University of Padua in Italy. In this episode, he gives us a taste of the theoretical and highly advanced mathematics work that he does. Plus, he tells us what he does to communicate it to broader audiences. We have a special guest host. Dr Gabriele Tartaglino-Mazzucchelli is an ARC Future Fellow and Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland. He was also one of the organisers for the MATRIX research program featured in this episode. https://www.therandomsample.com.au/podcast/building-blocks-of-universe/

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We admit it - even The Random Sample can't resist the hype around the world's biggest music star - Taylor Swift. Almost on a dare from his wife - and to make a point with his students - Griffith University's Dr Nathan Garland decided to open up his mathematical toolkit and explore the music of Taylor Swift. In this episode, Nathan tells us what he used from his mathematical toolkit and what he uncovered about Taylor Swift's music. Our host for this episode is Rose Crocker, an applied mathematician with the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Episode page: https://www.therandomsample.com.au/podcast/taylor-swift-music/

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In this episode, The Random Sample switches things up a bit. The people who usually ask the questions on this podcast, our hosts, are actually our guests.We explore why these researchers wanted to also become podcasters and what they’ve learnt along the way by hosting this podcast. Our hosts turned guests for this episode are: Rose Crocker is an applied mathematician with the Australian Institute of Marine Science; Cynthia Huang is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash University; Dr James Nichols is a mathematician and lecturer at the Australian National University; Dr Sevvandi Kandanaarachchi is a Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO.  Our host for this episode is Peter Taylor, a Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at The University of Melbourne.

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It’s hard to imagine a time before Wi-Fi – or what we’d do without it. Especially, if you’re under the age of 25. But thanks to the work of some brilliant Australian scientists, wireless internet is a part of our everyday lives. Our guest for this episode is Professor David Skellern, one of the Australian scientists who won the race in the late 1990’s to get functioning wireless technology to market. In their words, they had cut the wires that computers needed to talk to each other. Professor David Skellern shares his research and life journey with us, taking us back to his early days working in radio astronomy. Then, how he combined that experience with his love of mathematics, and his background as an electronic engineer, to eventually get to a point where he knew Wi-Fi was possible. Finally, how he helped bring that idea to fruition. It’s a fascinating journey!  Our host for this episode is Dr James Nichols, a mathematician and Lecturer at the Australian National University.

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This episode of The Random Sample introduces you to three brilliant statisticians! The three have been selected to present the inaugural Horizon Lectures at the upcoming Australian Statistical Conference next month. The Statistical Society of Australia established the Horizon Lecture awards for this year’s conference to recognise emerging leaders in Australia’s statistics community, and their contributions to advancing statistical practice. The three awardees are Dr Marijke Welvaert with the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Assoc. Professor Andrew Zammit Mangion from the University of Wollongong, and Assoc. Prof Margarita Moreno-Betancur with the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute. It’s a fascinating discussion about the importance of statisticians, the communication of statistics, and how statistics is evolving with the emergence of data science, machine learning and AI. Our host for this episode is Dr Sevvandi Kandanaarachchi, a Senior Research Scientist with CSIRO.

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There is still a lot of work to do before Australian girls and women have an equal opportunity to learn, work and engage in STEM. So says the Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

The Department’s 2023 STEM Equity Monitor shows that:

• Women make up 37% of enrolments in university STEM courses.
• Only 15% of STEM-qualified jobs are held by women.
• Only 23% of senior management and 8% of CEOs in STEM-qualified industries are women.

To tackle the serious issue of gender equity in STEM, Science and Technology Australia (STA) created the Superstars of STEM program in 2017. Its aim is to break the stereotypes about who can – and already does - work in STEM.

In this episode, STA CEO Misha Schubert tells how the Superstars of STEM program equips brilliant diverse STEM experts with advanced communication skills and opportunities so they can be role models and media experts for others to see.

We also talk to a current and past Superstar of STEM about what the program has meant to them. They are:

• Dr Muneera Bano, Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO’s Data 61.
• Dr Melissa Humphries, Senior Lecturer in the School of Computer and Mathematical sciences at the University of Adelaide.

Our host is Rose Crocker, an applied mathematician with the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

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On Saturday, October 14th, Australians head to the polls to decide the Voice to Parliament Referendum. In this episode, we’re not looking at the referendum, but rather the polling around it. Plus, what makes referendum polling different to polling in a regular election. Our guest is Professor Simon Jackman from the University of Sydney. Professor Jackman has three decades of experience researching, teaching, and communicating about political science and data science in the United States and Australia. Until last year, Simon led the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. Before that, he spent 20 years at Stanford University.  He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Society for Political Methodology. Our host is Cynthia Huang, a PhD Candidate at Monash University in the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics.

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Have you ever seen something on the news or in your social media feed and think, what are the odds of that happening? University of Toronto Professor Jeffrey Rosenthal is the author of the book, “Struck by Lightning – the Curious World of Probabilities”. In it, he explores how we should look at the randomness all around us and in the world, and why we overestimate the chance of some things happening, while underestimating others. Plus, he talks about the challenge of communicating these statistical and mathematical ideas to a broader audience. Our hosts are Cynthia Huang and Tim Macuga.

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For many of us, we rely on social media to get a lot of the information we’re interested in. But how does all that information move across these different platforms? It’s a question that researchers in the data and mathematical sciences at The University of Adelaide have been studying for years. Included in that research is the study of how misinformation and disinformation spreads on social media. Our guests for this episode are Professor Lewis Mitchell, Director of the Adelaide Data Science Centre, and Bridget Smart, who recently completed a Masters at The University of Adelaide. As part of her research, she worked to understand and model the processes behind malicious activity in our online social networks. They also talk about some of their latest research, which includes the spread of disinformation in the Russia-Ukraine war. Plus, why the mathematical and data sciences are so important in examining this problem, and how recent changes to social media, specifically, Twitter, could change that research. Our host is Rose Crocker, an applied mathematician with the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

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