Sydney Mathematical Research Institute
Newsletter Two 2025
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| Message from the Executive Director
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Dear friend of SMRI,
The public lecture will be given by my colleague Zsuzsanna Dancso, who will tell a fascinating story that connects knots, networks and algebra. We will be joined by Brisbane-based artist Briony Barr and the Sydney Institute for Astronomy at the Chau Chak Wing Museum on the weekend of 16/17 August. This year’s theme of National Science Week is ‘ Decoding the Universe – Exploring the unknown with nature’s hidden language’. Visitors are invited to engage with our most popular maths craft activities, evolve the Klein Bottle Experiment, and explore the solar system and beyond using OzGrav’s amazing VR system. Our program over the weekend also features floor talks and an interdisciplinary panel that explores the theme from surprising angles. Stay tuned for the full program! As always, a curated list of interesting reading and highlights from the last six months, as well as further announcements, can be found below.
With best wishes,
Stephan Tillmann
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Knots, graphs, and algebra: a story of surprises – A public lecture by Zsuzsanna Dancso
Knots are everywhere: in the strings of our DNA, in the structure of super-strong materials, and in mathematics, where knots lurk behind all three-dimensional shapes. Graphs model social networks, transit maps, neural nets, and are one of the most basic objects in modern combinatorics. But what does the mathematics of knots have to do with the mathematics of networks? And how can we use algebra – the science of numbers, operations, and structure – to solve mysteries about both?
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Friday 15 August, 2025
Lecture at 5:30 pm followed by drinks and canapés from 6:30 pm
Susan Wakil Health Building, University of Sydney
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Science in the Museum – National Science Week
To mark National Science Week, the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute (SMRI) and the Chau Chak Wing Museum (CCWM) are collaborating again on a stimulating weekend for the whole family in the museum at the University of Sydney!
This year’s theme of National Science Week is ‘Decoding the Universe – Exploring the unknown with nature’s hidden language’. Over the weekend, we will be delving into the hidden languages of nature – how do mathematics and sciences describe the world around us and allow us to push the boundaries of knowledge?
Joined by the Sydney Institute for Astronomy, we will be celebrating with a variety of activities and floor talks, culminating in an interdisciplinary panel exploring the theme. To explore how the rules of nature govern our world, join us to participate in Briony Barr’s Klein Bottle Experiment. This is a large-scale, collaborative artwork which uses rule-based play to visualise how participants interact with one another and our environment, using the hidden languages of the Universe!
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Saturday 16 August & Sunday 17 August
12 pm to 4 pm
Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney
Full program
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Focus period: Mathematical Science of AI Safety
Some aspects of intelligence are becoming a commodity. They are bought and sold by the token and piped from large datacenters hosting artificial neural networks to our phones, laptops, cars and perhaps soon domestic robots. However our understanding of what neural networks do, and how they “learn” is limited.
This makes it difficult to assess the downside risks of rapid adoption of AI across the economy and in our personal lives. The goal of this focus period will be to come to grips with these questions from a mathematical perspective. Many mathematicians want to contribute, but lack a clear entry point into the subject. A primary aim will be to articulate guiding questions, in consultation with experts at the forefront of AI development. We also aim to bring together some of the most interesting thinkers in this nascent field.
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Organisers: Daniel Murfet, Susan Wei, Geordie Williamson
3rd November – 11th December 2025, University of Sydney
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Recent highlights from SMRI
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Reflections: Special semester Modern perspectives in representation theory
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From May to June 2025, Modern perspectives in representation theory ran at SMRI, organised by SMRI Director Geordie Williamson, Charlotte Chan and Thomas Lam (both from the University of Michigan).
To reflect on the highlights, we invited SMRI visitor Masoud Kamgarpour to have a conversation with organisers Charlotte and Thomas about the special semester, their six-month sabbaticals at SMRI, and research in the mathematical sciences. Masoud’s full conversation with Charlotte and Thomas is available on the SMRI YouTube channel.
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Artistic Mathematics: Truth and Beauty – International Day of Mathematics Public Lecture by Henry Segerman
As part of our International Day of Mathematics (IDM) program, we invited artistic mathematician, Henry Segerman, to share some of his fantastic creations in a public lecture on Friday 14th March – Pi Day 3.14. One of our most popular lectures ever, more than 300 people registered for the event, which kicked off a full weekend of activities to celebrate IDM. Henry brought a variety of his designs, which span media from 3D-printing and sculpture, 3D-movies, virtual reality, and even a range of very unusually shaped but fair dice!
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CCWM X SMRI: Maths at the Museum
The theme “mathematics, art, and creativity” for International Day of Mathematics 2025 was a perfect opportunity to explore the deep links between mathematics and art. As part of our program of celebrations, the SMRI team collaborated with the Chau Chak Wing Museum to bring to life a special weekend of Maths at the Museum. The program across both Saturday and Sunday included a lecture-recital: Sound of Symmetry, a rotating schedule of floor talks, collaborative artwork designed by artist Briony Barr, and maths craft stations. View the gallery and read more about the weekend here.
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International Visitor Program Updates
SMRI congratulates the 25 successful researchers from IVP Round 1 2025, as well as their hosts.
Applications for the IVP (August 2025 round) are now closed, and the outcomes will be announced in October. The next round of the IVP will open in December 2025, for visits taking place between January – December 2027 (September 2026 – December 2027 for Australian and NZ citizens). Applications for the Domestic and Ukrainian Visitor Programs are on a rolling basis.
Keep an eye on the IVP webpage or follow us on social media to keep up to date with the latest news about our visitor programs.
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Geordie Williamson is an Invited Speaker at Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) 2026
SMRI Director Geordie Williamson has been invited to give the AMS Colloquium Lectures at JMM 2026. This is a prestigious multi-part lecture series focused on showcasing major advances in mathematics, delivered by a leading scholar. JMM will run from January 4 – 7, 2026 in Washington D.C. More information can be found on the JMM website.
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