3rd December 2009, 6:30pm
From Quasicrystals to Mathematics Representation; the Search for Harmony and Order, David Abrahams (University of Manchester, IMA President)
Abstract
As is customary for such addresses, this presentation will be in two parts. The first offers a serendipitous, and hopefully widely accessible, overview of the birth of the area of quasicrystals. The second focuses briefly on the many issues affecting our community and on the effective role that mathematicians, and the IMA and other learned societies in particular, can play.
The purpose of the mathematical half of the talk is to discuss the radical change in thinking about crystals brought about by a pioneering paper in 1984. In a very brief, but hopefully illuminating talk, we will chart a course from ancient views on the makeup of matter, through the ideas of Hooke and Kepler to the present day concepts of crystallography. We shall indicate the strong links between the physics of quasicrystals and the mathematics of aperiodic tilings of space, such as those proposed by Penrose.
As time allows, the second part will focus on the threats to, and aspirations for, our community. Threats include the low percentage of school mathematics teachers holding a first degree in mathematics and the recent closures of university mathematics departments. One example of an aspiration is greater influence by the mathematics community on government policy in science.
Venue: The Axis, 10 Holliday Street, Birmingham B1 1TF
No charge is made to attend meetings and non-members are welcome.
