2018 IFoA Prize awarded to undergraduate student Andreea Musat

On Friday 14th September, undergraduate student Andreea Musat was awarded the 2018 IFoA Prize (Institute and Faculty of Actuaries) for her performance in Maths 2ABD. After the prize-giving, as part of our Maths Week Scotland/Induction Week lineup, Stuart gave an engaging careers talk in Room 116 to approximately 35 students (Levels 2, 3, and 4 were all invited) explaining what being an actuary is all about. This was followed by a joint reception with the EMS talk that took place later in the afternoon. The main image below is Andreea receiving the award from the IFoA representative Stuart Mcilvenny, an actuary at Ernst & Young, and inset is Andreea giving an impromptu and very inspiration speech to the incoming Level 2 students!

Maths Week Scotland

As part of Maths Week Scotland, Postgraduate students Michael Currie, Anna Sehn, Kellan Steele and Suzy Whoriskey visited St Mary’s Primary School in Alexandria for the morning to work with children in primary six and seven. Suzy said:

“We spent the morning with the children, telling them about our research and talking about how maths is in almost every job you can think of in the world.

We then played a maths relay challenge game with them – which they loved! The excitement levels were sky high.

Before our morning with them, the children described maths as “boring”, “not challenging enough” and that they “hated it”. After our games all of a sudden maths was “great fun”, “challenging” and one P7 girl said that she felt “so smart” after completing the relay race.

It was a successful morning!”

EAUMP-ICTP Summer School

Over the summer postgraduate student Angela Tabiri taught at the EAUMP-ICTP Summer School in University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Angela said:

“I was invited to teach a one week graduate level course on "Introduction to Hopf Algebras". The course was delivered through one hour each of lectures and tutorials each day. We discussed the motivation for the study of Hopf algebras and linked this to Algebraic Geometry and Lie Algebras, the two other courses which were taught concurrently. It was a good experience for me to learn how to prepare lecture notes and develop my teaching skills.

At the end of the course, I gave a ten-minute presentation on my research and managed to get the class of about forty students to join me in a noncommutative dance which illustrates my research. The students were impressed with how fun mathematics can be presented.

There were twelve female participants at the summer school which was very encouraging. I used this as an opportunity to share with them a social media campaign I am leading to promote female African mathematicians using the hashtags #mathqueen #femafricmaths. I will be profiling these female participants on our social media pages (Femafricmaths) over the next few weeks.

I would to say thank you to Schlumberger Foundation, ICTP and the School of Mathematics and Statistics for sponsoring this trip. I am grateful to Ulrich Kraehmer and Tarig Abdelgadir, organisers of this summer school for giving me an opportunity to teach at the summer school.”

Statistics is everywhere

Research assistant Mengyi Gong and postgraduate student Craig Wilkie helped out with a TV programme examining the water used in the cotton growing process, presented by Stacey Dooley for the BBC. Members of the public volunteered to have their newly-bought clothes weighed and the amount of water used for each item was estimated. Mengyi and Craig helped out with the calculations. Craig said:

“It was really interesting to see behind the scenes and find out a bit more about how TV programmes are really made. It was also great to meet Stacey, who clearly has a passion for her work, especially on the impacts of the fashion industry.”

The programme should be shown on the BBC later this year.

Science & Technology in the student newspaper the Glasgow Guardian

Postgraduate student Jamie Quinn was elected as the Editor of the brand new Science & Technology section in the student newspaper the Glasgow Guardian. Jamie said:

“The section at the moment is focused on reporting on interesting science coming out of Glasgow University, bits of scientific research and tech news pertinent to students and general science & tech news from the Glasgow area. Online you can find us at https://glasgowguardian.co.uk/section/science-and-technology/ and the paper can be picked up from most University buildings (Boyd Orr, QMU, GUU, John McIntyre).”

First published: 5 October 2018

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