The Vice Chancellor's Distinguished Lecture Series – Professor Martin Bridson

As part of the Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture series, the University is delighted to welcome renowned mathematician, Professor Martin Bridson to deliver a keynote talk entitled 'Pure Mathematics: what is the point?'

Mankind cannot abide not knowing, so we do mathematics. But what do mathematicians do all day and what is "Pure Mathematics"?

Is it the recreational pursuit of tautological truth and obscure beauty, or does the future of our species depend on an expansion of our mathematical knowledge?

When we contact intelligent aliens, will their mathematics be the same as ours?

Professor Bridson will address these questions as he describes the life of a pure mathematician. Along the way, he will discuss codes, flat earths, curved universes and the unknowable.

Professor Martin Bridson is the Whitehead Professor of Pure Mathematics at Oxford University, President of the Clay Mathematics Institute, and a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. He is a prominent and passionate advocate for mathematics, both nationally and internationally.

Professor Bridson is renowned for his work in geometry, topology and group theory. Diverse encapsulations of symmetry, quantifications of complexity, and notions of curvature provide unifying themes for much of his work.

Join us at the Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre for a view of Mathematics from all angles.

This lecture forms part of ‘The Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture Series,’ which aims to reflect on the major social, scientific, cultural and policy issues of our time.