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.

Can game theory help to vaccinate the world?

Game theory suggests that sharing vaccine doses might give a selfish, as well as moral, advantage.

Happy International Women's day 2022!

We celebrate by revisiting some of the articles and podcasts we have produced with female mathematicians over the last year.

On the mathematical frontline: Ed Hill

Ed Hill has been working on the COVID-19 pandemic right from the start, providing government with essential epidemiological advice. Find out about his journey in this podcast.

Hiding in plane sight

Flying a plane on a secret mission? Some basic geometry can help you avoid being captured by an adversary.

Maths in a minute: Statistical mechanics

Bridging the gap between the microscopic snd the macroscopic.

Why the generation time of COVID-19 is importantTo work out the famous R number you need to know the time between infections.
Understanding the generation time for COVID-19

How long does it take for one person to infect another?

Maths in a minute: QALYs

What's a quality adjusted life year, or QALY?

Pandemics and psychology

Can you capture people's behaviour in epidemiological models?

Maths in a Minute: Turbulence and the Reynolds number

How does a smooth flow suddenly become turbulent? The Reynolds number helps understand the transition.

Turbulence: Where do we stand?

Dive into the maths of turbulence!

The Plus advent calendar 2021

In this year's advent calendar we celebrate our collaboration with the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences.

  • Want facts and want them fast? Our Maths in a minute series explores key mathematical concepts in just a few words.

  • As COP28, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, kicks off we look at how maths can help understand the climate crisis.

  • How do you create dramatic film out of mathematics? We find out with writer and director Timothy Lanzone.

  • Mathematics plays a central role in understanding how infectious diseases spread. This collection of articles looks at some basic concepts in epidemiology to help you understand this fascinating and important field, and set you up for further study.

  • Find out why the formula we use to work out conditional probabilities is true!

  • We talk about a play that explores the fascinating mathematical collaboration between the mathematicians GH Hardy and Srinivasa Ramanujan.