Nelly Tucker
AMSI Winter School 2024
What is your role in the Mathematical Sciences?
I have just finished my Bachelor’s degree and am now working as a teaching assistant while I wait to apply for a Master’s in Mathematics.
As an AMSI Winter School alumni, how did participating in AMSI programs support your career trajectory?
My time at the Winter School gave me the opportunity to explore some different areas of mathematics that use Probability Theory in various ways. From Financial Mathematics to Decision Making for Robotics, it was an enlightening experience and gave me insight into where a degree in mathematics can take me.
Can you share what initially sparked your interest in mathematics as a child, and how that curiosity has evolved as you’ve continued your studies?
I have always enjoyed mathematics, even from a very young age. Solving logical puzzles was a fun pastime, and mathematics was a tool to help with that. When I started school I was always drawn to the science subjects, due to their logical nature. It was reassuring knowing that there was a right and wrong answer. As I progressed in my studies it became less obvious how to solve the problem before me, and so I enjoyed the challenge of finding a method that worked, or finding the trick to the problem. That is a question I often find myself wondering even today: how can I frame this problem to help me solve it?
Summing up the theme of your SRS blog, how do you think the power of seemingly simple ideas and small numbers in mathematics can have such a significant impact on the world?
In my blog I talk about the number ‘0’. Such an obvious notion to us today, zero actually took centuries to develop. On its own, it represents having nothing, but we also use it to write much larger numbers such as 10, 205, and 1000000. Of course we could make a number system which does not need the number 0 (e.g. roman numerals), but how much simpler is our notation!
According to AMSI’s 2024 Year 12 Participation report card, female participation in higher mathematics remaining critically low—only 6.4% of Year 12 females studied the subject in 2022—what do you believe are the main barriers to encouraging more women to pursue mathematics at the high school and university levels?
When I was in high school we had very low participation in higher mathematics overall, and I was the only student at my school doing Specialist Mathematics, so there was no class for me to join. I joined an online cohort, and I am very grateful that that option existed, but I did not enjoy the experience at all. If I had been less sure about wanting to do higher maths I probably would have chosen a different subject altogether. So in my experience, I believe that we need to make mathematics more available to all. Due to the decreasing number of students taking higher mathematics, many schools do not offer these classes, and are thus rejecting the few students who are interested.
Therefore it seems to me that we must try to make mathematics a more attractive option much earlier than in the last few years of high school. Making mathematics a core part of the curriculum, and informing students about what careers mathematics can lead to are two things I believe would have a great impact on mathematics participation.
Can you provide any advice for students who are interested in pursuing mathematical sciences careers?
Do mathematics, and do the sciences that are interesting to you. If you are studying something that you enjoy you will learn so much more. Be engaged in your classes, and take opportunities when they present themselves. Sometimes we do not know how fun something is until we have tried it.
What are your hobbies or interests outside of work?
Outside of my studies I spend a lot of time running, climbing and more recently I have taken up Jiu-jitsu. I also enjoy reading and playing the piano.
