Statistics for a changing world, sharing Stephen Hawking's legacy, and exploring the impact of mathematics on global healthcare. |
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Professor John Aston knighted for services to statistics and public policy |
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After several years on secondment as Chief Scientific Advisor to the Home Office, Sir John Aston has returned to research full-time as the Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics. In June 2021 he received a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of his services to statistics and public policymaking.
His period as Chief Scientific Advisor covered challenges ranging from the Salisbury poisonings to the COVID-19 pandemic. We talked to him to learn more about his own work, the role mathematics can play in informing public policy, and the joys of helping to answer other people's questions. |
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Preserving Stephen Hawking's legacy for future generations |
Stephen Hawking left a profound scientific legacy, and inspired people far beyond the field of his research. In a major acquisition by the nation, Professor Hawking’s personal archive and the contents of his office will now be preserved by Cambridge University Library and the Science Museum, to share with researchers, students and the public. |
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From Big Data to phase transitions: statistics for a changing world |
Developing modern statistics |
Professor Richard Samworth is the Director of the Statistical Laboratory at DPMMS. He has just been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for his fundamental contributions to the development of modern statistical methodology and theory. We talked to him to find out how new techniques are tackling the challenges of a world increasingly built on Big Data. |
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Exploring physics through probability |
Dr Roland Bauerschmidt works on problems motivated by physics. But he is not in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. Instead, Roland is a Reader in the Statistical Laboratory, using a mathematical perspective to help understand complicated and profound physical phenomena. |
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On the mathematical frontline: Professor Julia Gog OBE |
Professor Julia Gog's research area is the mathematics of infectious disease. In February 2020 she was released from her normal duties to devote herself entirely to the fight against COVID-19. She tells us about the experience of mathematical modelling during the pandemic, what it's like contributing to the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), and her work so far. |
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Cambridge perspectives: mathematics and healthcare |
In June 2021 Professor Julia Gog, Professor Paul Linden and Professor Carola-Bibiane Schönlieb joined alumni around the world for the first of a new series of events. From modelling the spread of disease and improving indoor air quality to developing techniques for cancer screening, they discussed some of the ways in which mathematicians are contributing to global healthcare. |
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Seeing traffic through new eyes |
In a new interdisciplinary project, mathematicians from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics are using artificial intelligence to improve traffic in some of India's major cities, helping to protect the environment and human health. |
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The manifold joys of geometry |
Dr Ailsa Keating (DPMMS) has been awarded the 2021 Berwick Prize by the London Mathematical Society, given biennially to recognise an outstanding piece of mathematical research. We revisit this interview from the Faculty archives to learn more about her work on symplectic geometry. |
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Our events at the Alumni Festival |
Booking for the online Alumni Festival in September 2021 is now open. We hope you will join us for our live webcast events below, as members of the Faculty share insights from their work. |
Maths or medicine – which comes first? |
Friday 24 September 2021, 11am BST |
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Professor Carola-Bibiane Schönlieb and Professor Sir John Aston will discuss the important links between maths and medicine, and how these are leading to a revolution in medicine and healthcare. |
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Being a public statistician during the pandemic |
Monday 27 September 2021, 5pm BST |
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There has been unprecedented demand from the media for expert commentary on the deluge of numbers during the COVID-19 crisis. Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter will discuss the ups and downs of being a statistician during a pandemic. |
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