Black Mathematics at Cambridge
In October 2019 the Faculty joined Black History Month celebrations with an event showcasing the contributions of black mathematicians. It featured a keynote talk by Dr Nira Chamberlain, President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, and talks and a panel discussion by current and former Faculty staff and students. Dr Spencer Becker-Kahn, who obtained his undergraduate degree and PhD at Cambridge and is now a Lecturer at the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, talked about his work on minimal surfaces. Dr Ronald Reid-Edwards, Lecturer at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Physics and Körner Fellow at Trinity Hall, gave a brief introduction to string theory. And Khyla Kadeena-Miller, who did her undergraduate and Masters degrees at Cambridge and now works as a data scientist at the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, talked about some of the unexpected joys of studying mathematics. You can view or download a poster with brief bios of the speakers and panellists, and posters of previous famous black Cambridge mathematicians here (click on the images below). Regular events have followed every year during October, as well as an annual free Summer School ("Intro to Maths at Uni"). Check out also Hidden Figures in Cambridge Mathematics at the Cambridge Festival 2021.
Women of Mathematics
In April 2017 we hosted the Women of Mathematics exhibition. It featured portraits of nineteen female mathematicians from throughout Europe accompanied by brief descriptions of the mathematical areas on which they work.
Six of these women work in Cambridge, and their portraits now can be seen in the Faculty on the way to our main lecture rooms, opposite to the bust of Ramanujan. You can view or download their exhibition posters here (click on the images). To read or watch interviews with the six women, visit Plus magazine. All photos by Henry Kenyon.
