INI

The Isaac Newton Institute: Creating eureka moments

One of the most exciting places in the mathematical world is the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (INI), an international research centre and our neighbour here on the University of Cambridge's maths campus.
The INI attracts leading mathematical scientists from all over the world, and is open to all. We are proud to be collaborating with the INI to bring the cutting edge mathematics that is being done there to the general public. The following content is part of this collaboration.

Physics in a minute: What's the problem with quantum gravity?

At the heart of modern physics lurks a terrible puzzle: the two main theories that describe the world we live in just won't fit together.

Mindless searching

How stupid systems can use clever ways of finding things.

Maths in a minute: The Navier-Stokes equations

The mathematical problem with turbulence.

Stubborn equations and the study of symmetry

An impossible equation, two tragic heroes and the mathematical study of symmetry.

Answers on a donut – the Fields medal lecture of Manjul Bhargava

We enjoyed Manjul Bhargava's Fields medal lecture so much we wanted to share it with you!

Satanic science

There's no doubt that information is power, but could it be converted into physical energy you could heat a room with or run a machine on? In the 19th century James Clerk Maxwell invented a hypothetical being — a "demon" — that seemed to be able to do just that. The problem was that the little devil blatantly contravened the laws of physics. What is Maxwell's demon and how was it resolved?

Maths in a minute: Newton's laws of motion

We've been dabbling a lot in the mysterious world of quantum physics lately, so to get back down to Earth we thought we'd bring you reminder of good old classical physics.

String Theory, Duality and Art: how the Higgs boson and Turner Prize collide

On the face of it, an artist and a theoretical physicist might seem an unlikely pairing. But Turner Prize-winning sculptor Grenville Davey and string theorist David Berman's collaboration is producing beautiful, thought-provoking work inspired by the fundamental structure of the Universe. Julia Hawkins interviewed them to find out more about how the Higgs boson and T-duality are giving rise to art.

Renewable energy and telecommunications

When the mathematician AK Erlang first used probability theory to model telephone networks in the early twentieth century he could hardly have imagined that the science he founded would one day help solve a most pressing global
problem: how to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and switch to renewable energy sources.

How the velodrome found its formThe Velodrome, with its striking curved shape, was the first venue to be completed in the London Olympic Park. Plus talks to structural engineers Andrew Weir and Pete Winslow from Expedition Engineering, who were part of the design team for the Velodrome, about how mathematics helped create its iconic shape.
Fractal music

Fractals are a treat for your eyes, but what about your ears? Dmitry Kormann, a composer/keyboardist from São Paulo, Brazil, explains how he integrates fractal-like patterns in the very structure of his music, to obtain beautiful results.

It's a match!

"It's a match!" cries the CSI. At first glance it might seem that if the police have matched a suspect's DNA to evidence from the crime scene, then the case is closed. But some statistical thinking is required to understand exactly what a match is, and importantly, how juries should assess this as part of the evidence in a trial.