Liz Fearon: Co-producing mathematics with the public
We may not notice it, but mathematics impacts our lives on a daily basis. Mathematical models inform policy decisions around the economy and public health. They are used to understand climate change and how to respond to it. They are vital in the design of public buildings and spaces. They are even used to try and prevent crime.
It seems reasonable, then, that the mathematical models should reflect people's interaction with each other and their environment, and that they should take account of people's perspectives and priorities. In this episode of Maths on the Move we talk to Liz Fearon, an epidemiologist at University College London, about a pioneering new project which aims to involve people in the production of mathematical models from the start, treating them as valued and equal members of the research team. Liz tells out about the motivation behind the project, how it works, and what she hopes to achieve.
To find out more about topics mentioned in this podcast see:
Co-production of mathematical models — the article accompanying this podcast
The website of the COMMET project
Disease modelling for beginners — our introduction to some basic concepts in infectious disease modelling
The inequalities of COVID-19 — our article exploring the role of the pandemic in amplifying social inequalities
Tracing mpox — our article about modelling the spread of mpox.
This podcast is part of our collaboration with JUNIPER, the Joint UNIversity Pandemic and Epidemic Response modelling consortium. JUNIPER comprises academics from the universities of Cambridge, Warwick, Bristol, Exeter, Oxford, Manchester, and Lancaster, who are using a range of mathematical and statistical techniques to address pressing questions about the control of COVID-19. You can see more content produced with JUNIPER here.
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Living proof: Hunting through higher dimensions with Zhouli Xu
On May 30th 2024 seminar goers at Princeton University witnessed a thrilling moment. The mathematician Zhouli Xu of the University of California, LA, announced that, together with colleagues he had sorted out the 126th dimension. Not in general, but in regards to a problem that has taunted mathematicians since the 1960s. The problem involves strange shapes and is called the Kervaire invariant problem, after the mathematician Michel Kervaire.
In this episode of Maths on the Move Zhouli takes us on a trip into higher dimensions, giving us a gist of what this long-standing problem is all about and retracing some of the long, and sometimes arduous, journey towards a proof. We met Zhouli when he visited our neighbours at the Isaac Newton institute for Mathematical Sciences (INI) in Cambridge to take part in a research programme called Equivariant homotopy theory in Context.
To find out more abut the topics discussed in this podcast see:
Maths in a minute: Topology
The hypersphere in four dimensions
Telescope topology
This content forms part of our collaboration with the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (INI) – you can find all the content from the collaboration here.
The INI is an international research centre and our neighbour here on the University of Cambridge's maths campus. It attracts leading mathematical scientists from all over the world, and is open to all. Visit www.newton.ac.uk to find out more.
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Brainstorming AI with Maths4DL
The capabilities of artificial intelligence may appear to be galloping ahead, but there are still many challenges that need to be solved. Last month we joined members of the Maths4DL research project for a hackathon — an intensive two-day brainstorming session designed to figure out how one might teach machine learning techniques for solving differential equations and how best to test those techniques.
In this episode of Maths on the Move, Maths4DL members Yolanne Lee from University College London, Georg Maierhofer from the University of Cambridge, and Chris Budd OBE from the University of Bath tell us all about the hackathon, the science behind it, and what it was like to participate in those ambitious but exciting 48 hours.
For a brief introduction to machine learning see Maths in a minute: Machine learning and neural networks and for a brief introduction to differential equations see Maths in a minute: Differential equations. You might also like:
Our podcast featuring Yolanne Lee talking about her work as a Maths4DL researcher,
Our podcast featuring Georg Maierhofer talking about physics informed neural networks, as well as the accompanying article,
Our article AI and GoPro physics featuring the work of Nathan Kutz who is mentioned in this podcast.
This content is part of our collaboration with the Mathematics for Deep Learning (Maths4DL) research programme, which brings together researchers from the universities of Bath and Cambridge, and University College London. Maths4DL aims to combine theory, modelling, data and computation to unlock the next generation of deep learning. You can see more content produced with Maths4DL here.
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Meet your digital twin
Imagine we could have a digital version of our entire body which could help us, and our doctors, decide what life style is good for us, predict which diseases we might get, and how to best treat them? In short, what if we could all have our very own digital twin?
The idea isn't quite as sci-fi as it sounds. A gigantic scientific effort called the Physiome Project is about piecing together a mathematical description of the entire physiology of the human body. Once this has been achieved to a sufficient level digital twins will be a spin-off.
In this podcast we revisit an interview we did back in 2019 with Steven Niederer, who was then Professor of Biomedical Engineering at King's College London but has since moved to a new position at Imperial College London as Chair of Biomedical Engineering. Niederer told us about the physiome project, about how the fitbits many of us own are a very first step towards a digital twin, and about how you can model individual human organs such as the heart. We also challenge ourselves to explain differential equations in one minute.
You can find out more about maths and medicine, differential equations and mathematical modelling on Plus.
We met Niederer in 2019 when he helped to organise a research programme at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge.
The music in this podcast comes from the artist Oli Freke. The track is called Space Power Facility.
This podcast forms part of our collaboration with the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (INI) – you can find all the content from the collaboration here.
The INI is an international research centre and our neighbour here on the University of Cambridge's maths campus. It attracts leading mathematical scientists from all over the world, and is open to all. Visit www.newton.ac.uk to find out more.
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Living proof: The meaning is in the arrows with Adina Goldberg
In this podcast we hope to give you some interesting information. This information is encoded in terms of 0s and 1s – the classical bits in your computer or phone. But what if instead we were using a quantum computer? Then we'd be dealing with quantum bits, or qubits, opening up exciting new possibilities. And quantum information theory is the area of mathematics that explores how we can do that.
Adina Goldberg was one of the participants at a recent research programme in this area at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (INI). In this episode of Living proof, our podcast produced in collaboration with the INI, we speak to Adina about her work and how her intriguing motto – "the meaning is in the arrows" – applies to her research, her career path, and the way she looks at life.
You can find out more about quantum information in this short introduction and delve into the details of information theory in this collection of content.
Make sure you visit Adina's website to find out more about her work and her fascinating career. Since we recorded this podcast Adina has finished her PhD – congratulations Dr Goldberg!
This podcast forms part of our collaboration with the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (INI) – you can find all the content from the collaboration here.
The INI is an international research centre and our neighbour here on the University of Cambridge's maths campus. It attracts leading mathematical scientists from all over the world, and is open to all. Visit www.newton.ac.uk to find out more.
Maths on the Move, the podcast from plus.maths.org, will bring you the latest news from the world of maths, plus interviews and discussions with leading mathematicians and scientists about the maths that is changing our lives. Hosted by Plus editors Rachel Thomas and Marianne Freiberger.
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