Being a Professional Mathematician Tony Mann and Chris Good
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- Science
Audio files from the project Being a Professional Mathematician, which produced worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum. www.beingamathematician.org
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Danny Brown: How about physically making something?
Danny Brown is a mathematics teacher at Thomas Tallis School in Greenwich.
He talks about:
is he a "mathematician"? (at time 0:21)
support and professional networks (1:32)
the value of social media (2:38)
Twitter (3:09)
his mathematics website (4:01)
obstacles to his career (5:24)
role models (5:37)
More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org -
Emilie du Chatelet: "A normal woman and a good scientist"
Patricia Fara, historian of science at the University of Cambridge, talks about Emilie du Chatelet (1706 - 1749), mathematician, translator and populariser of Newton's work in France. We learn about:
du Chatelet's background and education (time 0:28)
her interest in Newtonian ideas (0:52)
her relationship with Voltaire (1:32)
her attitude to life and science (2:11)
the book Elements of the Philosophy of Newton (2:49)
her translation of Newton's Principia (4:19)
what was behind du Chatelet's achievement (6:11)
her context: differences between French and English society in her time (6:51)
a parallel with Mary Somerville (8:15)
du Chatelet as a woman in science (9:42)
More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org -
Florence Nightingale: "What use were mathematics to a married woman?"
Noel-Ann Bradshaw talks about Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910), the first woman to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society. We learn about:
what you may not know about Florence Nightingale (time 0:21)
her early interest in mathematics and her parents' disapproval ( 0:49)
her early career and views on education (1:38)
the Crimean War (2:36)
her Polar Area Diagrams (3:34)
Nightingale's impact (4:06)
her work back in England (4:52)
Nightingale as statistician (5:32)
More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org -
Gwyneth Stallard: "That moment when suddenly things fit together"
Gwyneth Stallard is Professor of Pure Mathematics at the Open University. She talks about
defining her profession (at time 0:29)
teaching at the Open University (0:44)
research in pure mathematics (1:40)
the characteristics of a mathematician (5:42)
the value of collaboration (7:28)
the support a research mathematician needs (9:26)
how work is disseminated (11:41)
the difficulties she has overcome, in finding a job after completing her PhD (13:17)
and in returning to research after maternity leave (15:14)
women in mathematics (16:54)
More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org -
Hugh Everett III: Many Worlds of Mathematics
Tony Mann talks about the career of Hugh Everett III (1930 - 1982), famous for his "Many Worlds" interpretation of quantum theory. He talks about:
introduction to Everett's career (time 0:10)
Everett's work in Quantum Theory (0:43)
Game Theory and Operations Research (2:13)
consultancy (3:12)
belated interest in Everett's ideas on Quantum Theory (3:30)
Everett's death (4:01)
summary of his career (4:25)
More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org -
James Joseph Sylvester (1814 - 1897): "An outsider breaking into the established societal norms"
Karen Parshall talks about the nineteenth-century mathematician James Joseph Sylvester. We learn about:
Sylvester's family background and Jewish heritage (at time 0:27)
being a Jew in Victorian Britain (1:21)
his mathematical education (1:57)
further impact of his Jewishness (2:37)
a Jew at Cambridge (3:13)
his first publications (4:24)
progressing his career, and facing obstacles (5:25)
end of his first stay in the USA (6:51)
back in London: a job as actuary, and research progress (7:21)
"creating his own mathematical community" (8:41)
his friendship with Cayley (8:58)
Invariant Theory (9:41)
taking a degree in law (10:19)
back to Academia as Professor of Mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich (10:41)
defining the "professional mathematician" (11:11)
Sylvester at Woolwich (11:42)
enforced retirement, establishing an international reputation (12:30)
flourishing back in America as a research professor (13:37)
return to England and the Savilian Chair at Oxford (15:46)
More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org