The secret mathematicians February 10, 2010

Michael Faraday prize lecture

Professor Marcus du Sautoy
University of Oxford

Artists are constantly on the hunt for interesting new structures to frame their creative process. From composers to painters, writers to choreographers, the mathematician’s palette of shapes, patterns and numbers has proved a powerful inspiration. Often subconsciously artists are drawn to the same structures that fascinate mathematicians. Through the work of artists like Borges and Dali, Messiaen and Laban, Professor du Sautoy will explore the hidden mathematical ideas that underpin their creative output but will also reveal that the work of the mathematician is sometimes no less driven by strong aesthetic values.

Marcus du Sautoy is the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of New College. In 2001 he won the prestigious Berwick Prize of the London Mathematical Society. Marcus du Sautoy is author of the best-selling popular mathematics book The Music of the Primes. His new book Finding Moonshine: a mathematician’s journey through symmetry was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction. He has a regular column in the Times called Sexy Science.

Admission free - no ticket or advanced booking required. Doors open at 4.45pm and seats will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

This lecture will be webcast LIVE at royalsociety.org/live.

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Official Website: http://royalsociety.org/The-secret-mathematicians/