It’s all about maths this week in Auckland

Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland is hosting New Zealand’s biggest-ever gathering of mathematicians, with more than 850 people at a week-long international conference coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the New Zealand Mathematical Society.

Talks on maths education and communication feature.

Persi Diaconis, a mathematician, statistician and professional magician, gives a public talk on 10 December, at 6pm on ‘The mathematics of solitaire’. He's a professor at Stanford University who studies randomness; are tosses of a coin really random? How many times should a deck of cards be mixed to really mix it up?

On 9 December, Dr Tanya Evans, a senior lecturer in the University's Department of Mathematics, will speak on "traditional lectures versus active learning" in one of a series of talks during the week on maths education.

Post-quantum cryptography, AI, and industrial maths are among topics and much of the material presented will be blue sky research.

“The AI revolution today wouldn’t have happened without the theoretical research from decades ago," says Dr Melissa Tacy, a senior lecturer at the University who is conference director. "The work we do now will fuel future technical revolutions.”

The 9-13 December event is a joint meeting of the New Zealand, Australian and US maths societies.