Sir Michael Atiyah has died

By Katie Steckles. Posted January 14, 2019

A collage entitled ‘People listening interestedly to Sir Michael Atiyah’; all photos © Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation Flemming / Kreutzer / Mueck

Over the weekend we heard the sad news that mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah has passed away on 11th January. One of the few mathematicians to have been awarded both a Fields medal and an Abel prize, Atiyah leaves behind an extensive mathematical legacy and will be missed by many.

A tribute to former President of the Royal Society Sir Michael Atiyah OM FRS (1929 – 2019), on the Royal Society website

Mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah dies aged 89, at BBC News

Michael Atiyah, Mathematician in Newton’s Footsteps, Dies at 89 at the New York Times

Carnival of Mathematics

Carnival of Mathematics 165

By Katie Steckles. Posted January 10, 2019

The next issue of the Carnival of Mathematics, rounding up blog posts from the month of December, is now online at Ganit Charcha. The Carnival rounds up maths blog posts from all over the internet, including some from our own Aperiodical. See our Carnival of Mathematics page for more information.

News

Mathematical Obituaries, December 2018

By Katie Steckles. Posted January 4, 2019

As 2018 drew to a close, we sadly lost several pioneering figures in mathematics. UPDATE: We have sadly also lost Rich Haberman, added 14/1/19.

Events

Happy Thirdsday!

By Katie Steckles. Posted January 3, 2019

Today is the third of January, and the third day of the year – and since this year it also falls on a Thursday, making for excellent pun opportunities, a group of mathematicians including Jim Propp, Evelyn Lamb, Zoe Griffiths, Ben Orlin, Matt Parker and several others have chosen to use today to celebrate the number $\frac{1}{3}$ (and in America, you’d even write the date as 1/3). Today is officially Thirdsday! Celebrate by:

reading Jim’s extensive blog post on the subject
watching Matt’s new YouTube video
downloading Zoe’s new Think Maths classroom resource
reading Evelyn Lamb’s Scientific American post
looking at Ben Orlin’s bad drawings on the topic
searching for ‘thirdsday’ on Twitter to see what people are up to

I personally will be sketching the middle third Cantor set, as it’s my favourite fractal.

News

Not Mentioned on The Aperiodical, 2018

By Katie Steckles. Posted December 31, 2018

We’ve had a bit of a break over the holidays, but mathematical news stops for no mince pie. From new prime numbers to mathematical doodling challenges, here’s a round-up of some of the facts/stories that we’ve seen while trying not to do any work.

News

Particularly mathematical New Years Honours 2019

By Peter Rowlett. Posted December 30, 2018

It’s that time of year when we take a look at the UK Government’s New Years Honours list for any particularly mathematical entries. Here is the selection for this year – any more, let us know in the comments and we’ll add to the list. Get the full list here.

Aperiodvent

Aperiodvent, Day 24: The Equation for a Merry Xmas

By Katie Steckles. Posted December 24, 2018

Merry Christmas, Aperi-readers. Please enjoy this pleasing algebraic manipulation, and we’ll see you when we’ve finished eating all the mince pies! This post is part of the Aperiodical’s 2018 Aperiodvent Calendar.