AustMS Annual Meeting: Education Afternoon

The education afternoon takes place on Tuesday 1 October 2013. It is aimed at high school teachers, senior high school students and other interested members of the public. To participate please register here. Registration is free.

The event is hosted in the Eastern Avenue Auditorium at the University of Sydney.

Organiser and contact person for the education afternoon is David Easdown.

Program

Time Activity Presenter
14:00–14:05 Welcome
14:05–14:50 Mathematics to Map the World Daniel Daners (University of Sydney)
14:50–15:30 The Dark Side of the Cube Burkard Polster (Monash University, Melbourne)
15:30–15:50 Afternoon Tea
15:50–16:30 Forum on Transition: student presentations, followed by questions from the audience
16:30–17:10 The Mathematics of Planet Mars Marty Ross (Freelance mathematician based in Melbourne)
17:10–17:55 Pulp Fractions: Mathematics goes to the Movies Burkard Polster & Marty Ross
17:55–18:00 Close

Patricipants are invited to stay for refreshments and the public lecture by Sommer Gentry starting 19:00 in the same venue.

Abstract of Talks

hourglass map

Mathematics to Map the World

Daniel Daners

Everyone has seen maps of the world, but not too many know how they are constructed, even though the modelling and the mathematics required only uses high school mathematics. In this talk we construct some familiar maps, and study their properties. In particular we focus on the Mercator map, the stereographic projection and some maps in between. We also show how simple transformations of the complex plane (Argand diagrams) allow to produce many useful maps.

polster in cube

The Dark Side of the Cube

Burkard Polster

The cube is easy, right? It's the fundamental building block for our right-angled world, and most people are convinced that they know all there is to know about this simplest of 3D shapes. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Come along and watch mathematical masterchef Burkard expertly slice and dice the cube. He'll fold it, explode it, reassemble it, turn it inside out and make it perform tricks you never imagined possible. It will all make for an amazing tour of the dark side of the cube.

green alien

The Mathematics of Planet Mars

Marty Ross

This year we're all keenly celebrating The Maths of Planet Earth. But what about Mars? What mathematics might Martians get up to? Would it be like ours, or might Martian maths have its own particular flavour? In this presentation Marty will consider what might be truly universal about mathematics, and what might be very special to us Earthlings.

screenshot

Pulp Fractions: Mathematics goes to the Movies

Burkard Polster & Marty Ross

We are in the business of mathematics, of calm and careful reasoning. But what happens when popular culture noses in? How are mathematicians and mathematics portrayed? Burkard and Marty have been collecting mathematical movies for over a decade and have written the definitive (and pretty much the only) book on the topic. Come and let them show you the best and the worst (mostly the worst) that Hollywood has to offer.

Registration (for Education Afternoon only)

If you register for the conference as well, please use the full registration form. Report problems with registrations to austms2013@maths.usyd.edu.au.

Sponsors

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