Science Outreach activities
This page is a record of my science outreach activities. Please contact me, if you would like an activity for your group!
Next planned open day for Year 12 Maths students in December 2010
Organiser of "Magnificent Maths!" schools open day March 2010.... Many children are put off from studying maths, because they do not see the connection between mathematics and solving problems in the real world. We held a “Magnificent Maths” day for local school children, from school Years 10-12, where we introduced them to some exciting interdisciplinary research applications of mathematics. The event was organised around three interactive workshops. 1) Maths and weather: a hands-on activity, where the pupils learnt about mathematical optimization techniques used to combine observations and computer models to predict the weather. 2) Maths and infectious diseases: a live modelling activity, where the students acted as agents of a disease, and modelled the spread of infection, and learnt some of the concepts of dynamical systems theory. 3) Finding oil: a computer-based simulation activity, where the students learnt about using waves to work out the shapes of objects, such as geological structures under the Earth’s surface. Further plenary sessions at the end of the day included challenge puzzles introducing the concept of mathematical proof and questions and answers about life as a University mathematics student.
I have participated in the NRICH Ask a Mathematician website.
I am a STEMNET ambassador.
Web materials developed for University Open Day in 2005. Why do weather forecasters get it wrong?