University of Waikato, Hamilton, New ZealandDepartment of Mathematics Closing date: 17 September 2021 Ko wai mātou? – Who are we? The Department of Mathematics within the School of Computing and Mathematics Sciences, offers a broad programme in pure, applied, and computational mathematics which gives… more
(This is a guest post by Dr Freya Shearer, as part of our miniseries of articles/essays by Australian mathematicians involved in the pandemic response. A pdf version of this article is available here.)… more
Monash University, Melbourne, AustraliaSchool of Mathematics Closing date: Wednesday, 1 September 2021, 11:55 pm AEDT The School of Mathematics is seeking an excellent Research Fellow to work as a part… more
This scholarship will be available again in 2022, with applications opening on 1 October 2021, and I hope you may be able to assist in sharing this valuable opportunity through… more
MATRIX is excited to host free online screenings of the following documentaries that celebrate the wonders of the mathematical sciences during National Science Week. We’d be extremely grateful if you could help us… more
Throughout Victoria’s COVID-19 response, a suite of mathematical and statistical models have been used to understand the spread and subsequent control of the pandemic. High-profile mathematical outputs, such as case forecasts, give a good picture of the general epidemic activity in a given region. However, when case numbers are small, forecasts can be very sensitive. Moreso, when there is only a handful of cases, more detailed factors such as geographic distribution of cases, or at-risk industries, are possibly more informative.
It has been a little over 12 months since COVID-19 became a regular headline in the Australian media, but I would not be alone in saying it has definitely felt longer. At the time I was entering the third year of my PhD in mathematics and epidemiology, so when news broke of the new virus in late 2019, I was certainly paying attention. Little did I know it would affect not only my life as a researcher in the field, but everyone across the world.
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is currently developing a new national school curriculum, including for mathematics. On the 2nd of July the President of the AustMS, Prof. Ole Warnaar, contacted David de Carvalho, CEO of ACARA, asking for an extension of the consultation period, and further details about the design process and evidence base for the proposed mathematics curriculum.
The health and science communities recognised early on in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians were likely to be at high risk of COVID-19 infection and severe outcomes. Our prior research and existing modelling frameworks enabled us to quickly begin the process of responding to the questions of interest to the IAG.
COVID-19 has changed how we live our lives, and will continue to do so for some time yet. Australia has been fortunate in many ways. We have clearly defined borders which are able to be managed effectively. We have a highly functional public health system. Despite the challenges in Victoria in mid-2020, ultimately we increased testing and contact tracing capacity enough to suppress transmission. We have, for the most part, seen coherent leadership from our state and Commonwealth political leaders.