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Nadia Baker
Day one - The Secret World of Codes
and Code-breaking
Day two - What are the Odds?
Throughout history, opposing
sides have used mathematics
to develop codes in order to
keep secrets from each other.
Nadia Baker from the Millennium Mathematics
Project at the University of Cambridge will
unravel some of these codes, and explain how
mathematicians changed the course of history
through cracking the infamous Enigma code.
The presentation will include a demonstration
of a genuine WWII Enigma Cipher Machine.
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Colin Wright
Day one & Day two - Mathematics and juggling
Juggling has fascinated
people for centuries.
Seemingly oblivious
to gravity, the skilled
practitioner will keep several
objects in the air at one time, and weave
complex patterns that seem to defy analysis.
In this talk Dr. Wright demonstrates a
selection of the patterns and skills of juggling
while at the same time developing a simple
method of describing and annotating a class
of juggling patterns. By using elementary
mathematics these patterns can be classified,
leading to a simple way to describe those
patterns that are known already, and a
technique for discovering new ones.
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David Spiegelhalter
Day one - Mathematics, risk and
coincidence
How unusual is it for three
children in the same family
to share the same birthday?
What chance is there for
two children in the same family but born in
different years to arrive at the same minute?
What is the chance of winning the lottery?
Why do coincidences happen? All these
questions are meat and drink for Cambridge’s
Winton Professor of the Public Understanding
of Risk.
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Katie Chicot
Day one - Big Ideas
Be prepared to let your mind
expand as we look at some of
the terrifying consequences
of Einstein’s Theory of
Relativity. Time, space and
reality are not what you think. To see how
the universe really works we will have to ride
light beams and follow in the footsteps of the
greatest thinker of our time.
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Johnny Ball
Day two
This man has
given more talks
about maths to
GCSE students
than anyone I’ve
ever met. And
I’ve had more
glowing reports
from schools
all over the
UK and abroad
about the effect he has on GCSE students
than you could possible imagine. Although
he has a string of books behind him, it’s his
stage performance that really marks him out as
someone exceptional.
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Matt Parker
Day one & Day two - Adventures in the Fourth
Dimension
Humans are three
dimensional objects that
happily live in a 3D world,
but mathematics can describe
a whole new world in four dimensions. What
would a 4D box look like? How would we
interact with a 4D creature? Matt will use a
series of multi-dimensional objects to show
what happens with mathematics takes us to the
very limit of our imagination.
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Chris Budd
Day one - 101 Uses of Quadratic
Equations
Not long ago The Times
suggested that the quadratic
equation was useless, maths
was useless and that no one
wanted to study maths anyway, so why bother?
So, is the quadratic equation really dead? Does
anyone care? Are mathematicians really evil
monsters who only want to inflict quadratic
equations on a younger generation as a means
of corrupting their immortal souls? In fact, the
quadratic equation has played a pivotal part in
all sorts of ways, including watching satellite
television. In a very real sense, quadratic
equations can save your life.
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John Berry
Mathematics and
Mechanics – for GCSE
students
His research interests
(based at The University
of Plymouth) are in
mathematics education, particularly students’
development and understanding of key
concepts, the use of hand-held technology
and symbolic algebra in learning and teaching
mathematics and particularly student-centred
approaches to mathematics teaching and
learning. It’s when pupils start asking questions
themselves (and answering them) then the
learning can begin. Although his research
takes place in a university context John is the
Mathematics Professor in Residence at Wells
Cathedral School in Somerset. He works with
pupils in years 7 to 10 and teaches Mechanics
modules to the Further Mathematics sixth form
students in the School. Of course mechanics
does not play a major role in most GCSE
specifications but it is one of the most visual
areas of maths and therefore ideally suited to
stretching the boundaries on a day like this.
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Keith Pledger
Day one & Day two - Examiner session
We hope that the main focus of the day will
be to generate interest and enthusiasm about
maths but of course doing well in the exam
is also very important. In two short sessions,
this hugely experienced and straight-talking
examiner, author and subject officer will offer
some seriously useful advice. |
