The School of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics at NUI Galway will host a number of events as part of Maths Week Ireland from October 9 to 16. During this week, various fun activities have been organised to promote awareness, appreciation, and understanding of maths among the public.
On Monday October 11 one of Spain's best known mathematicians, Fernando Blasco, who is also a magician, television personality, and author of several books, will give a talk in the Colm O hEocha Theatre, Arts Millennium Building, NUI Galway, at 7pm.
The talk, which is open to the general public, will see Blasco perform some tricks involving elementary mathematics. Topics such as prime numbers, Sudoku, which is a Japanese number puzzle, and the Rubik's cube are among the facets of mathematics to be explored. On the following day Blasco will perform more of his magic and maths aimed specifically at primary and secondary school audiences.
During the second half of the week, there will be several special maths workshops held to highlight the importance, usefulness, and enjoyment of mathematics. These workshops will be focused at primary and secondary school students. Topics explored at these sessions will include how Julius Caesar used maths to protect his empire, how blind people do and read maths, delivered by Dr David O'Keeffe, and an exploration of Einstein’s famous theory, Special Relativity made Easy, by Dr Patrick Browne. Both speakers are from the university’s School of Mathematics, Statistics, and Applied Mathematics.
“Maths can often be a bit of a mystery to the wider public, a subject that may feel inaccessible to them,” said Dr David O’ Keeffe, chief organiser of Maths Week events at NUI, Galway. “But in actual fact, it doesn't need to be the case. Everywhere around us, maths is in use. When you strip away the details on how modern technology operates; for example mobile phones, iPods, computers, etc, it all boils down to doing mathematics. The Maths Week events in NUI Galway will act as a bridge to connect young and old with maths in a fun and interactive way. Maths is more than something that remains in the clutches of academia and we want to show people that it can be useful to everyone.”
Schools throughout Galway are encouraged to participate in these special events to make maths accessible to a wider audience.
For further information on Maths Week at NUI Galway contact David O'Keeffe at [email protected] or (091 ) 494168
