Jump to Content

Media Release

September 17 2009

UniSA welcomes world’s best Mathematical minds

World researchers to attend Mathematics conference at UniSA from Sept 28The University of South Australia is set to welcome some of the world’s finest mathematical minds to South Australia this month when it hosts Australia’s biggest annual mathematics conference from September 28 to October 1.

Conference director, UniSA’s Associate Professor Vladimir Ejov says the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS) to be held at UniSA’s City West Campus, is proof of the adage that mathematics is one of the most powerful international languages.

“The conference has attracted more than 370 delegates from across Australasia, Brazil, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the US, to Adelaide to talk and think mathematics," Prof Ejov said.

“We’re also delighted to welcome Adelaide’s own international maths star and Fields Medal winner, Professor Terence Tao who will be presenting a plenary lecture, a session talk and a free public lecture."

The lecture will be held on September 29 from 7 pm at the Alan Scott auditorium, Hawke Building, City West campus, with a focus on the fascinating properties of prime numbers.

From fundamental statistics through to geometry, computational maths and topology and even the history and philosophy of mathematics, the Conference will include special sessions on a wide range of theoretical and applied topics.

UniSA Foundation Chair of Mathematics and Statistics, Professor Jerzy Filar says Australia has a strong reputation for delivering excellent mathematicians to the world.

“Maths is a fundamental discipline - one that underpins science, invention, innovation and progress,” Prof Filar said.

“A world without maths would be a world without computers, internet, mobile phones, DVDs, climate change analysis and a 1000 other innovations we now take for granted.

“It is no exaggeration to say that much of what is known about modern science and engineering is expressed in the language of mathematics.

“Australia has a vibrant, engaged, mathematical community and among our international attendees we will be welcoming home some great young Australian mathematicians, such as Professors Terry Tao, Danny Calegari and Akshay Venkatesh, who have taken their skills to work in prestigious research environments around the world.”

Prof Filar says while the conference will probably hold some mystery for the average Adelaidean, it is one of the most exciting events on the calendar for mathematicians in the Asia-Pacific region.

“This is a key opportunity for networking, collaboration and sharing new theories and developments in maths,” he said.

“Unlike innovations in many other sciences, mathematical discoveries have no ‘use by’ date.

“Mathematical theories discovered by ancient Greek mathematicians are just as valid today as the day they were discovered, so it is exciting to speculate that some of the new discoveries first reported at AustMS 2009 in Adelaide, may still be used and taught in year 4009.

“It is also a chance to highlight the value of mathematics in people’s daily lives and to refocus on the importance of maths education for continued innovation and problem solving in a global context.”

Prof Filar says few people realise the fundamental contribution mathematicians have made to medical image processing that helps in early cancer detections or cryptography which underlies the security of our computer and financial systems.

“Mathematicians will continue to help tackle some of the biggest challenges of the century from climate change, to water and food security. They are often the unsung heroes of the day.”

Besides the Australian Mathematical Society, the conference is sponsored by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute, the Mathematical Association of South Australia, the International Centre of Excellence for Education in Mathematics, UniSA, the Australian Department of Defence and the Clay Mathematics Institute, famous for its million dollar prize offering to the people who can solve one of the seven of the world’s toughest mathematical problems known as the “millennium problems”.

More details about the conference can be found online.

Social bookmarking
Digg Digg It Reddit Reddit Delicious Delicious Stumble It Stumble It! NewsvineSeed Newsvine

Contacts for interview

Media contact

 

top^