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In this newsletter: * Latest news * Plus podcasts * Mathematical moments * Browse with Plus * Live maths ********** Latest news * Abel for symmetry Prestigious mathematics prize goes to group theorists http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/jan-apr08/abel08/ * Celebrating an unusual life Alexander Grothendiek turns 80 http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/jan-apr08/Grothendiek/ * One L of a discovery The first 3rd degree transcendental L function http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/jan-apr08/Lfunction/index.html Plus... read more on the Plus blog http://plus.maths.org/blog ********** Plus podcasts Biostatistics - From cradle to grave Bacon sandwiches, drinking while pregnant, obesity - health risks are a favourite with the media. But behind the simple numbers quoted in the headlines lies a huge and sophisticated body of statistical research. We talk to Professor Sheila Bird of the Biostatistics Unit in Cambridge about her work in public health and its impact on policy, and discuss bias in pharmaceutical studies, as recently highlighted by the controversy around antidepressants. http://plus.maths.org/podcasts/ ********** Mathematical moments Emmy Amalie Noether Born on the 23rd of March 1882 in Erlangen, Germany Died on the 14th of April 1935 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA When Emmy Noether, at the age of 18, unexpectedly decided to enter university, German public opinion had just about come round to the fact that some women might, possibly, benefit from higher education. Allowing women to obtain official degrees would have been a bit much of course, but with the professor's consent they were allowed to sit in on lectures. As Noether's father was an eminent professor of mathematics at Erlangen, the professors were family friends, so she was able to gain their consent. In 1904, after four years of unofficial study, a relaxation in the rules finally allowed Noether to officially matriculate at Erlangen and she went on to complete a virtuoso doctorate in 1907. With typical earthy frankness she later went on to describe her thesis as "crap". Women were not allowed to fill academic posts, so Noether spent the next eight years working for the university without pay or position and helping her increasingly frail father with his teaching duties. During a stay in Gottingen in 1903, Noether had met mathematical giants including David Hilbert and Felix Klein. After her doctorate Hilbert and Klein persuaded Noether to come to Gottingen and then embarked on a long campaign to have her appointed to a faculty position in spite of a Prussian law prohibiting this. Noether was refused a university position but permitted a compromise - she could lecture but only if the lecture was listed under Hilbert's name rather than her own. Albert Einstein wrote to Felix Klein in 1918, "On receiving the new work from Fraulein Noether, I again find it a great injustice that she cannot lecture officially". Finally, in 1919, Noether was granted the lowest faculty rank of Privatdozent and, although still unpaid, began teaching that autumn. A few years later she was made a volunteer professor and eventually granted a tiny salary which was barely at subsistence level. In 1921 Noether published what is generally known as her most important paper, "Theory of ideals in rings". It was of fundamental importance in the development of modern algebra. From a physicist's perspective her most important accomplishment came to be known as "Noether's theorem", which proves a relationship between symmetries in physics and conservation principles. German mathematics, like much else in Germany, became highly politicised in the 1930s. Noether was one of the first six professors fired from Gottingen by the Nazis because she was both Jewish and politically liberal. Noether eventually found temporary positions at universities in the USA. Sadly, Noether died in exile of ovarian cancer. She was in her early fifties at the height of her creative powers. Read more about Emmy Noether on Plus: http://plus.maths.org/issue12/features/noether/index.html and on the MacTutor History of Maths site: http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Noether_Emmy.html ********** Browse with Plus Looking for small things The biggest particle accelerator in the world, the LHC at CERN, will come into operation this year. But why would anyone want to accelerate really small things? YouTube has the answer. The Science and Technology Facilities Council has put clips from its "In search of giants" film series on the history of particle physics on its own YouTube channel. From the periodic table, via quantum mechanics to the Higgs boson, it's all there, presented and explained by Dr Brian Cox. http://www.youtube.com/user/SciTechUK ********** Live maths The 19th Step - What can a mathematician bring to dance? This is an opportunity to view early research for an exciting new collaborative work, "The 19th step" from composer Dorothy Ker and choreographer Carol Brown with artist Kate Allen and featuring celebrated mathematician Marcus du Sautoy. Performers include du Sautoy with an ensemble of three dancers and three musicians (Dylan Elmore, Marina Collard and Rosemary Martin with Sarah Bennington - flute, Richard Steggall - horn and Scott Wilson - percussion). When: 12th of April, 7.30pm Where: Studio Theatre, Laban Creekside, Deptford, London SE8 3DZ Tickets: £5.00 / £3.00 advance bookings 020 8469 9500, More information: http://www.laban.org/theatre/performances.phtml Life on a balloon: An introduction to cosmology Throughout history societies have questioned humanity's place in the universe and the origins of our existence. Today the scientific and mathematical pursuit of this knowledge forms the field of cosmology. We know an incredible amount about the universe's structure and how it evolved to be as we now observe it. But how have we obtained this knowledge? From the big bang to the fate of the universe in the distant future, this free lecture by Dr David Mulryne explains what we know about the universe, how we know it, and what there is left to discover. When: 7th of May 2008, 5pm Where: Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA How: Admission is free but you must obtain a ticket by emailing [log in to unmask] More information: http://mmp.maths.org/events/eventlist.php Cosmic Imagery: Key images in the history of science We live in a visual age - an age of images - iconic, instant and influential. Certain key images have created our conception of the large, the small, and the complex - both of inner and outer space. Some, like Gresham Professor Robert Hooke's first microscope views of the world, arose because of our new technical capabilities. Others, like the first graph, were breathtakingly simple but perennially useful. The first stunning pictures of the Earth from space stimulated an environmental consciousness that has grown ever since. Many of these images have changed our view of ourselves and of the world around us. In this lecture, John D Barrow takes us on a tour through the most influential images of science. When: 29th of April 2008, 6pm Where: Barnard's Inn Hall, Gresham College, Holborn, London EC1N 2HH How much: free More information: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=748 Cancer can give you maths Verbal reasoning alone cannot be used to understand the outcome of the complex interactions that typically comprise biological function, so more and more researchers are turning to mathematical and computational modelling to gain insights on experimental results. This lecture by Philip Maini will illustrate some approaches and advances concerning understanding the basic dynamics of solid tumour growth. When: 1st of May, 1pm and 6pm Where: Barnard's Inn Hall, Gresham College, Holborn, London EC1N 2HH How much: free More information: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=726 ********** Happy reading from the Plus team. ********** If you received this message you have subscribed yourself to the PLUS-ANNOUNCE mailing list via our website. If you do not wish to remain on the list please visit: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=plus-announce&A=1 and follow the instructions to leave the list. If you have any comments on this newsletter, or Plus Magazine, please contact us at [log in to unmask] - we are always happy to hear from our readers! Feel free to forward this email to anyone you think might be interested.