Resource Library

Is Teaching Right for You?

Nick Brusby, CMath MIMA

The following workshops were funded by the Higher Education Teaching and Learning Workshop Series in previous years:

About the role

Are you passionate about mathematics and eager to be part of a vibrant community of like-minded individuals in the Republic of Ireland?

One of the greatest challenges of art restoration is that once an art conservator has decided to use a particular set of colours or techniques, then the work can’t easily be undone. It is not usually possible to experiment with different theories about how an original piece might have looked and there is an ever-present risk of accidental damage during the restoration.

I am retiring on 2nd February. It is 12 years since I had the privilege to join the IMA as their University Liaison Officer and it has gone very quickly and enjoyably. So, if you will indulge me, a few reflections on the highlights, that have made it such a brilliant role and a few recommendations. What attracted me to apply for the was role the opportunity to use my career development experience, continue working with early career individuals and with clever people doing lots of fascinating things in such wide-ranging applications – I may not follow all the maths but I love hearing how it is used. I was also ready after 31 years of full-time working and at least 10 years of ridiculous working hours to downshift and the part-time and working from home was a real draw. Maybe not so unusual at the moment, post pandemic. I also enjoy the travelling that came with the role and has returned now we are back to ‘in person’ events; the opportunity to visit towns and cities as well as campuses.

Maths is used to create many of the special effects that modern films rely on so much. As an example, the Lord of the Rings trilogy used 263 special effects artists, all of whom used a vast amount of maths to do their work.

Cancer is the second biggest killer after heart disease, causing almost 30% of all deaths in the UK. Unfortunately, cancer is an extremely complicated disease which can be difficult to both diagnose and treat. Mathematicians at the University of St Andrews have developed important new models of how cancer spreads, thereby enabling clinicians to have a better understanding of how to provide more effective treatment for patients.

Researchers from the Engineering Tomography Lab (ETL) at the University of Bath are developing cutting edge mathematical techniques to improve the removal of both landmines and cancerous tumours.

As average global temperatures increase, one of the biggest impacts of climate change can be seen in the form of rising sea levels. Sea level changes have the potential to cause devastation to some of the world’s most densely populated areas, meaning that it is vital to obtain accurate estimates of these increases. Unfortunately making predictions in this area is difficult, and scientists have made estimates for sea level rises which contain a great degree of variation. One of the reasons that prediction is difficult is that the earth has not gone through such a significant warming in the recent past, meaning that scientists don’t have the data to explain how the ice sheets will melt and how sea levels might rise.

Conferences are a key development activity and a fundamental part of a research or technical career

Many of you have interviews for new beginnings this term so here are some thoughts to help you prepare.

An assessment centre is a collection of activities put together by recruiting organisations to enable them to identify the right people for their organisations and to persuade the successful applicants to accept their job offer. They are typically used where employers are looking for a number of graduates to join a graduate development programme (scheme) and are recruiting for long term career potential rather than specific jobs.

Taking part in careers sessions, I have heard that business awareness is one of the top ‘most wanted/least found’ employability skills in surveys of employers.

A new Mars rover is being prepared for launch in 2020 that will carry equipment capable of searching for life on the Red Planet. Mathematics is ensuring the rover can scour as much of the Martian surface as possible.

A recent government report found that the UK space industry grew in 2014/15 to represent 6.5% of the global space economy. In this same period £13.7 billion was added to the UK economy by space industries, with £1.7 billion of this coming from activities such as satellite and spacecraft subsystem manufacture, and with a further £12 billion income generated by systems that use infrastructure in space such as satellite broadcasting.

Never before has energy efficient lighting been so popular, or so widespread. But we could be doing better. The latest mathematical research is helping to get the most out of the next generation of light bulbs.

The way we deal with the carbon we produce as a by-product of using fossil fuels is coming under increasing scrutiny. Mathematics is not only helping design ways of capturing the carbon, but it is also used in inventing ways of safely storing it underground.