Being a Professional Mathematician

Danny Brown is a mathematics teacher at Thomas Tallis School in Greenwich. He talks about: is he a "mathematician"? (at time 0:21) support and professional networks (1:32) the value of social media (2:38) Twitter (3:09) his mathematics website (4:01) obstacles to his career (5:24) role models (5:37) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org

Nira Chamberlain is a mathematical modelling consultant. He talks about: His career (at time 0:10) The skills mathematical consultants need (1:37) Professional bodies and Chartered status (2:22) Doing a part-time PhD and working the “Nairobi shift” (3:53) The obstacles he has faced (5:03) the joys of being a professional mathematician (6:42) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org

Rosemary Dyson is a Lecturer in Applied Mathematics at the University of Birmingham and part of the Systems Science for Health initiative. She applies the principles of mathematical modelling to mechanical problems in biological and industrial contexts, generating novel insights into the systems involved, as well as new mathematical techniques. As such her work is inherently highly collaborative, involving frequent interactions with experimentalists. She talks about her career so far (at time 0:10) the kind of mathematics she does and how she describes herself (0:51) what is an applied mathematician? (1:31) the mathematics of how plants grow (2:46) how mathematicians differ from other professionals (3:48) how social networking facilitates collaboration (4:39) dissemination of her work (7:07) encouraging people to stay in mathematics - the LMS Women in Mathematics Day and the IMA Younger Mathematicians Conference (8:10) outreach (8:40) study groups (9:09) women in mathematics and the importance of role models (10:34) teaching and its connection with research (12:39) teaching mathematical modelling: the skills required, and how some potential mathematicians are turned off the subject (14:05) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org

Peter Furness, consultant in decision analytics, modelling and data mining, talks about his career. He discusses: how he describes himself (at time 0:08) the image of mathematics in his field of commercial consultancy (1:23) the skills required by a mathematician in that field (4:21) the support available (6:26) the value of Chartered Mathematician status (9:29) how he disseminates his work (11:59) the obstacles he has faced in his career (13:43) the opportunities for mathematicians setting out on careers now (15:39) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org

Jay Jobanputra talks about his career as a mathematician in the investment banking sector in the UK and abroad. He now works part-time in order to have time to develop an educational product to motivate children at a critical time in their mathematical education. He talks about: his career (at time 0:09) mathematics in the financial sector (0:30) the value of qualifications and credentials (1:34) what “mathematician” means in the City (1:51) the value of mathematics (2:20) the culture of financial organisations (2:54) support for one’s career (3:59) the importance of networking and upskilling (4:25) professional bodies (5:06) obstacles facing mathematicians in the financial sector (5:36) his outside interest in mathematics education (6:48) what a mathematician offers to employers in the financial sector (8:16) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org

Sue Merchant is an independent management consultant. She is a past President of the Operational Research Society and Vice-President elect of the International Federation of OR Societies (IFORS). "Factors essential to survival as a working mum include a hugely supportive family, painstaking organisation and helpful bosses." She talks about: her career in operational research (at time 0:10) how she describes herself professionally (1:17) the skills needed by mathematicians in her field (1:45) the characteristics of a mathematician (3:08) the credentials needed by a practitioner (3:35) the support available to operational research professionals (4:36) how she disseminates her work (5:40) working on her own and with others (7:06) obstacles she has faced in her career (8:07) the challenges faced in returning to work after maternity leave (9:02) role models (11:30) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org

Mason Porter is an applied mathematician who is a University Lecturer and Tutor at the University of Oxford. He talks about his work (at time 0:09) being a mathematician (1:04) how mathematics compares with other disciplines (1:35) applied mathematics and pure mathematics (2:04) academic mathematics and industry mathematics (2:48) support in his professional life (3:56) professional credentials (5:32) dissemination of his results (6:15) promoting the subject (8:39) the public image of mathematics (10:12) the "leaky pipeline" where women are lost to mathematics careers (11:44) the value of role models for potential mathematicians (14:28) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org

Gwyneth Stallard is Professor of Pure Mathematics at the Open University. She talks about defining her profession (at time 0:29) teaching at the Open University (0:44) research in pure mathematics (1:40) the characteristics of a mathematician (5:42) the value of collaboration (7:28) the support a research mathematician needs (9:26) how work is disseminated (11:41) the difficulties she has overcome, in finding a job after completing her PhD (13:17) and in returning to research after maternity leave (15:14) women in mathematics (16:54) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org

Jackie Stedall talks about Thomas Harriot, a notable mathematician who lived in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. She talks about Harriot's mathematics (at time 0:16) Was Harriot a "professional mathematician"? (0:42) Harriot's patrons (0:51) Mathematical career patterns in Harriot's time (1:32) Harriot's interest in navigation (2:22) The problem of stacking cannon balls (3:14) Mathematics without immediate practical applications (4:11) Did Harriot work collaboratively with others? (4:59) Harriot's communications with other mathematicians (5:51) How Harrriot disseminated his work (6:45) Harriot's reputation as a mathematician (7:45) Would Harriot have described himself as a mathematician? (9:50) Were Harriot's patrons interested in his mathematics? (10:48) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org

Patricia Fara, historian of science at the University of Cambridge, talks about Emilie du Chatelet (1706 - 1749), mathematician, translator and populariser of Newton's work in France. We learn about: du Chatelet's background and education (time 0:28) her interest in Newtonian ideas (0:52) her relationship with Voltaire (1:32) her attitude to life and science (2:11) the book Elements of the Philosophy of Newton (2:49) her translation of Newton's Principia (4:19) what was behind du Chatelet's achievement (6:11) her context: differences between French and English society in her time (6:51) a parallel with Mary Somerville (8:15) du Chatelet as a woman in science (9:42) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org

Karen Parshall talks about the nineteenth-century mathematician James Joseph Sylvester. We learn about: Sylvester's family background and Jewish heritage (at time 0:27) being a Jew in Victorian Britain (1:21) his mathematical education (1:57) further impact of his Jewishness (2:37) a Jew at Cambridge (3:13) his first publications (4:24) progressing his career, and facing obstacles (5:25) end of his first stay in the USA (6:51) back in London: a job as actuary, and research progress (7:21) "creating his own mathematical community" (8:41) his friendship with Cayley (8:58) Invariant Theory (9:41) taking a degree in law (10:19) back to Academia as Professor of Mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich (10:41) defining the "professional mathematician" (11:11) Sylvester at Woolwich (11:42) enforced retirement, establishing an international reputation (12:30) flourishing back in America as a research professor (13:37) return to England and the Savilian Chair at Oxford (15:46) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org

Noel-Ann Bradshaw talks about Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910), the first woman to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society. We learn about: what you may not know about Florence Nightingale (time 0:21) her early interest in mathematics and her parents' disapproval ( 0:49) her early career and views on education (1:38) the Crimean War (2:36) her Polar Area Diagrams (3:34) Nightingale's impact (4:06) her work back in England (4:52) Nightingale as statistician (5:32) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org

Tony Mann talks about the career of Hugh Everett III (1930 - 1982), famous for his "Many Worlds" interpretation of quantum theory. He talks about: introduction to Everett's career (time 0:10) Everett's work in Quantum Theory (0:43) Game Theory and Operations Research (2:13) consultancy (3:12) belated interest in Everett's ideas on Quantum Theory (3:30) Everett's death (4:01) summary of his career (4:25) More information, worksheets and other resources for the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: www.beingamathematician.org