Institute of Advanced Studies

The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics

By Winthrop Professor Cheryl Praeger AM FAA, Director of the Centre for Mathematics of Symmetry and Computation at UWA and 2009 WA Scientist of the Year

As the vital role of technology in modern society increases, the mathematical sciences are becoming indispensable.

The title, borrowed from Eugene Wigner, is re-proved daily as mathematicians find that the same fundamentals of mathematics can apply to vastly different problems, giving applications from physics to finance, to fast secure communication.

The supply of mathematics graduates and mathematics teachers in Australia is unable to meet education and employer demand.

What must Australia do to properly equip itself for the future?

About Cheryl Praeger
Professor Cheryl Praeger is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, former president of the Australian Mathematical Society (1992-1994), and a member of the Order of Australia (since 1999). She was awarded an honorary DSc by the Prince of Songkla University in 1993 and by the Université Libre de Bruxelles in 2005.

She is in the top one per cent of highly cited mathematicians in the world and is recognised for adapting a 19th century theory by a now celebrated rebel French teenager, Evariste Galois, for use in today’s information technology.

Tuesday 18 May 2010