The Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) is pleased to have concluded a successful Summer School 26, where Australia and New Zealand’s brightest young mathematical minds collaborated and networked with lecturers, prospective employers and fellow students.
The 24th edition of Summer School, which was held at Monash University’s Clayton campus in Melbourne and online, has been commended as one of the Institute’s most successful to date, with over 150 students in attendance across the program’s four-week duration.
Long regarded as a major event in the tertiary education mathematics calendar, AMSI’s Summer School is an annual national training and networking event targeted at honours and postgraduate students in the mathematical sciences and related disciplines, early career researchers and industry professionals. The event aims to connect students with peers, researchers and potential future employers — all while developing their mathematical skills.
Courses
Students were invited to partake in a course of their choosing from one or two of the following options:
- Applications of Probability Generating Functions to Biological Systems by A. Prof. Joel Miller, La Trobe University
- Applied Partial Differential Equations in Fluid Dynamics by Dr Michael Dallaston, Queensland University of Technology
- Computational and Combinatorial Algebraic Topology by Dr Agnese Barbensi and Dr Daniele Celoria, The University of Queensland
- From Equations to Intelligence: A Deep Dive into Data Science and AI by Dr Alina Donea, Monash University
- Linear and Nonlinear Elliptic and Parabolic Partial Differential Equations by Dr Yann Bernard, Monash University
- Machine Learning in Financial Mathematics by Dr Kihun Nam, Monash University
- Mathematical Optimisation Theory and Applications by Dr Hoa T. Bui and Dr Vinesha Peiris, Curtin University
- Multivariate Statistical Analysis by Dr Sharon Lee, The University of Queensland
Participant Talks
Student involvement throughout was exceptional. The judged Participant Talk was a notable highlight with both winners, Ryan Braiden and Joshua O’Callaghan, hailing from the University of Queensland.
Winners:
- Ryan Braiden, The University of Queensland. Talk: ‘The K(pi, 1) conjecture for Artin groups’.
- Joshua O’Callaghan, The University of Queensland. Talk: ‘The Parity Problem’.
Runners-up:
- Super Cao, University of Sydney. Talk: ‘Knots, and Diagrammatic Algebra’.
- Hardik Gaur, Monash University. Talk: ‘From Chaos to Coherence: Modelling Cities as Complex Systems’.
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Opportunities
Careers Day has long been a cornerstone of the Summer School schedule, and this year’s edition was no exception with over 130 people including students, teachers, careers councillors and organisation representatives taking part. Among the companies and organisations present at the Day were the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Biarri, IMC Trading, The Mathematical Association of Victoria, Australian Signals Directorate, EdgeRed, CSL, Jane Street and APR.Intern —testament to the diverse career pathways open to our mathematics, statistics and data science graduates.
Mathemagician
As Summer School drew to a close, AMSI enlisted the expertise of well-known mathematician, YouTuber and ‘mathemagician’ Professor Burkard Polster of Monash University to present the annual Public Lecture. Titled The Other Golden Ratio, Prof. Burkard utilised his trademark array of unusual props, including a Labubu, to visualise what he described as “a much less well-known but equally remarkable golden ratio that shows up just as often in the same places, but with surprising twists.”
Importance
Speaking after the event, AMSI Director Professor Tim Marchant noted that Summer School is “critical in bringing Australia and New Zealand’s brightest budding mathematicians together — not only to improve their mathematical literacy in specific fields, but to show them the incredible career opportunities open to them once their university studies conclude.”
AMSI would like to thank this year’s attendees, organisers and sponsors, Monash University, The Australian Mathematical Society Inc., ANZAMP and the Statistical Society of Australia, without which this event would not have been possible.
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