The Secrets of Mathematics

Professor Melissa Franklin talks about her experiences working towards the discovery of the Higgs Boson and her work today at the Large Hadron Collider This entertaining lecture by experimental particle physicist, Professor Melissa Franklin (the first woman to achieve tenure in the Harvard Physics Department), is the latest in the Charles Simonyi annual lecture series. This series was set up in 1999 in order to promote the public understanding of Science

M.C. Escher is known as the mathematician's (and hippie's) favourite artist. But why? And was Escher, a man who claimed he knew no mathematics, really a mathematical genius? In this lecture Roger Penrose and Jon Chapman not only show why Escher has won the artistic and mathematical hearts of mathematicians, but also why his art is inspiring both artists and mathematicians today, as captured in Jon's brilliant updating of Escher's 'Picture Gallery' to the new mathematics building in Oxford.

Please note the BBC film is not available on this film.

Gabor Domokos gives a talk on his mathematical journey that led to the creation of the Gomboc, the shape which has just one stable and one unstable point of equilibrium. In 1995, Russian mathematician V.I. Arnold conjectured that convex, homogeneous solids with just two static balance points (weebles without a bottom weight) may exist. Ten years later the first Gomboc was built. Gabor Domokos, will describe his own part in the journey of discovery, the mathematics behind that journey and the curious relationship between the Gomboc and the turtle. He will also discuss Arnold's second major conjecture: the Gomboc in nature is not the origin, but the ultimate goal of shape evolution.

What goes on inside the mind of a mathematician? Where does inspiration come from? Cedric Villani, winner of the most prestigious prize in mathematics, the Fields Medal, explains the process. Inaugural Titchmarsh Lecture 2015.

2014 Charles Simonyi Lecture with David MacKay. David discusses how the laws of physics constrain our energy options, and describes what happened when his reflections on energy arithmetic propelled him into a senior civil service role.

World-renowned mathematician Sir Roger Penrose, Oxford University, describes how crystalline symmetries are necessarily 2-fold, 3-fold, 4-fold, or 6-fold.

How has mathematics emerged over recent decades as the engine behind 21st century science? Alain Goriely looks at this question and more.

The entire history of mathematics in one hour, as illustrated by around 300 postage stamps featuring mathematics and mathematicians from across the world. From Euclid to Euler, from Pythagoras to Poincare, and from Fibonacci to the Fields Medals, all are featured in attractive, charming and sometimes bizarre stamps. No knowledge of mathematics or philately required.

Big Data promises to change all sectors of our economy, and deeply affect our society. But beyond the current hype, what are Big Data's salient qualities, and do they warrant the high hopes? These are some of the questions that this talk addresses.

Speaker: Viktor Mayer-Schönberger

A public lecture given by Edward Frenkel, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, talking around his best-selling book "Love and Math" followed by a conversation with Marcus du Sautoy and Q&A. "Love and Math" tells two intertwined stories: the wonders of mathematics and one young man's journey learning and living it. The book shows that mathematics - far from occupying a specialist niche - goes to the heart of all matter, uniting us across cultures. Edward works on the Langlands correspondences. Considered by many to be a Grand Unified Theory of mathematics, the Langlands Programme enables researchers to translate findings from one field to another so that they can solve hard problems that had seemed intractable before. "Love and Math" is an invitation to discover the hidden magic universe of mathematics. For more information, visit http://loveandmathbook.com/