Alex Rubinov Memorial Oration

Each year a public oration is held to commemorate the life of Professor Alexander Rubinov and to celebrate his contribution to Federation University as founding Director of the Centre for Informatics and Applied Optimisation. Details of the 2020 oration are given below and a flyer is attached.

Title: The Forgotten Geometry of Mesopotamia: Revelations from an ancient clay tablet.
Who: Dr. Daniel Mansfield (UNSW)
When: Monday 30th November, 7pm AEDT.
Where: MS Teams https://events.federation.edu.au/event/sessions?id=Alexander_Rubinov_Memorial_Oration_20203721008262

Abstract: Mathematics is said to have begun long ago in ancient Mesopotamia, also known as the cradle of civilization. This culture had slipped into legend until the late 19th century when archaeologists uncovered thousands upon thousands of clay documents from lost cities such as Sippar, Lasa, and Babylon. Amongst these tablets were mathematical and geometric texts. Many are yet to be translated and some are surprisingly advanced. This talk is an introduction to the Mesopotamians’ unique form of arithmetic and geometry, including some very recent discoveries.

From the AustMS Secretary Deborah Jackson on behalf of Daniel Mansfield daniel.mansfield@unsw.edu.au.