Speaker: Prof. Simon Tavaré (DAMTP)
Venue: Winstanley Lecture Theatre
Time: 4/03/2013 20:30, drinks from 20:15

Dynamo theory is concerned with the generation of magnetic fields by motion in electrically conducting fluids. This process, quite straightforward in a conventional generator, is more complex in homogeneous fluids. I will discuss various different mechanisms of dynamo action and their application to the magnetic fields of astrophysical bodies.

Speaker: Dr. Julia Goedecke (DPMMS)
Venue: Winstanley Lecture Theatre
Time: 18/02/2013 20:30, drinks from 20:15

The word abstraction often sounds daunting to many non-mathematicians, and probably also to some mathematicians. However, abstraction is all around us: not only in mathematics, but also in the way we form terms and concepts in our language. For example we all group together houses, schools, college chapels and skyscrapers under the word “building”. So if we know something that is common to all buildings (for example that they have to be maintained), then we know this for every building we meet without having to work it out anew in each case.

Mathematics builds heavily on abstraction. Some even say that abstraction is the main ingredient in mathematics. I will present some examples of mathematical concepts that arise as abstractions of well-known situations which every undergraduate has met. My research area – category theory – can be called the most abstract area of mathematics. We will try to explore the point of view and underlying principles that drive category theorists to their very abstract way of thinking.

Speaker: Dr. Susan Pitts (StatsLab)
Venue: Winstanley Lecture Theatre
Time: 11/02/2013 20:30, drinks from 20:15

Mathematical models for premium income and claim payments are important in the assessment of risk in insurance. I will describe some current risk models, and illustrate the use of mathematical ideas and techniques in ruin theory.

Speaker: Prof. Grae Worster (DAMTP)
Venue: Winstanley Lecture Theatre
Time: 4/02/2013 20:30, drinks from 20:15

Melting of the great ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland has the potential to raise sea level significantly. Whereas many inland ice sheets are controlled by a balance between accumulation of snow at high altitudes and melting at low altitudes, marine ice sheets, which flow into the ocean, are controlled dynamically by the rate at which ice detaches from the submarine bedrock along which it flows to form floating ice shelves. Fundamental aspects of the flow of marine ice sheets can be understood using viscous fluid dynamics. I shall describe recent laboratory and mathematical studies of marine ice sheets, which are helping us to understand what controls them from collapse.