The path traced out by a given point on the rim of a circle as you roll it along a straight line is a beautiful curve called a cycloid, whose appeal to mathematicians has had it dubbed “the Helen of Geometry”. This curve is known in geometry as a roulette, which is a curve you get by rolling one curve along another, and there are many more with an amazing range of applications, from clockwork toys to nuclear reactors. 

This lecture will provide a guided tour of the beauty of geometrical curves.

Professor Sarah Hart

Sarah Hart is the first woman Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, and was appointed in 2020. She is Professor of Mathematics and until recently was Head of Mathematics and Statistics at Birkbeck, University of London.

She studied at Oxford and Manchester, gaining her PhD in 2000. Postdoctoral research and teaching followed, including a prestigious Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Fellowship, before she was appointed to a lectureship at Birkbeck in 2004. She has been Professor of Mathematics there since 2013. In 2021 she began a three-year term as President of the British Society for the History of Mathematics.

Sarah is an active researcher, publishing mainly in the area of pure mathematics known as group theory, which has many applications both inside and outside of mathematics, for example in coding theory and cryptography. She is passionate about communicating mathematics and is a sought-after public speaker. She is particularly interested in the links between mathematics, culture and creativity: many of her public lectures and talks in schools are on this topic, especially on mathematics and art.

In 2020-21, Professor Hart will be lecturing on Mathematics in Music and Writing, part of a three-year exploration of Mathematics, Culture and Creativity.

Professor Hart's lecture series is as follows:

2021/22 Geometry: The Mathematics of Art

2020/21 Mathematics in Music and Writing

Magnetic fields have mysterious effects that can be dramatically counterintuitive, and they are ubiquitous throughout the Universe and can have influence on large scales. 

This lecture will explore how some of the exotic and energetic phenomena in the Universe can only be explained in terms of these magnetic fields that pervade space.

They over ticket for all public lectures, a ticket does not guarantee admission. Please arrive early. Any unclaimed tickets will be transferred 10 minutes before the start of the lecture. Guidance on tickets and Covid safety can be found here: gres.hm/ticket-safe

Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/support/

Professor Katherine Blundell OBE

Katherine was appointed Gresham Professor of Astronomy in 2019. She is a Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford University and a Research Fellow at St John's College. Before this she was one of the Royal Society's University Research Fellows, a Research Fellow of the 1851 Royal Commission, and a Junior Research Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford.

Her research interests include the evolution of active galaxies and their life cycles, the accretion of material near black holes and the launch and propagation of relativistic jets  (jets of plasma emitted by some black holes). In her research she uses electromagnetic imaging and spectroscopy, as well as computational techniques. 

She is also a renowned science communicator and set up a worldwide network of five schools-based Global Jet Watch observatories, which collect data on evolving black hole systems and nova explosions in our Galaxy, helping to inspire the next generation of scientists in South Africa, Chile, Australia and India. 

Her awards include a Philip Leverhulme Prize in Astrophysics, the Royal Society's Rosalind Franklin Medal in 2010, the Institute of Physics Bragg Medal in 2012, the Royal Astronomical Society's Darwin Lectureship in 2015 and an OBE for services to astronomy and the education of young people in 2017.

Blundell's first lecture series for Gresham College is called Cosmic Concepts, starting 2 October 2019, and she will be looking at how concepts developed in physics and cosmology have led to some of our most surprising discoveries about the Universe. 

Professor Blundell's lecture series are as follows:

2021/22 Cosmic Revolutions

2020/21 Cosmic Vision

2019/20 Cosmic Concepts

All lectures by the Gresham Professors of Astronomy can be accessed here.

Join a panel of experts as they discuss the impact of new technologies in the third War Studies at 60 seminar.

About this event

Speakers:

Chairs: Hassan Elbahtimy and Filippa Lentzos, Co-Directors of the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS), King’s College London
Sean Ekins, Founder and CEO of Collaborations Pharmaceuticals Inc
Tim Stevens, Senior Lecturer in Global Security in the Department of War Studies and Head of the King's Cyber Security Research Group
Kathleen Vogel, Professor and Interim Director in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University

Emerging technologies are advancing at extraordinary speeds, with unprecedented and far-reaching impacts on the present, as well as on future conflicts and warfare. Digital technologies are merging with genomic technologies and cutting-edge biotechnologies, alongside transformations taking place due to machine learning, artificial intelligence, electromagnetic technologies and nanotechnologies. All this is forging new links between technology, society and the global order.

How do we identify and assess the opportunities and risks of these advances? What new actors and networks are gaining currency in this space? Do these technologies carry the potential to disrupt the existing order or can they be a tool to stabilise it? How can they be most effectively governed and regulated? And ultimately Do they enhance or undermine peace and security?

Our panel of global experts will discuss these questions and more in the third War Studies at 60 seminar event, led by the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS) in the Department of War Studies. Taking place in person and online, this hybrid panel chaired by CSSS Co-Directors Dr Hassan Elbahtimy and Dr Filippa Lentzos, brings together Professor Kathleen Vogel, Interim Director in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University, Sean Ekins, Founder and CEO of Collaborations Pharmaceuticals Inc, and Dr Tim Stevens, Head of the King's Cyber Security Research Group in the Department of War Studies Kathleen Vogel.

Attendees can join in person or online. A drinks reception will take place after the talks.

This event is part of the War Studies at 60 Seminar Series, a series of events exploring key issues in security and defence as part of the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the Department of War Studies.

Speaker bios:

Dr Hassan Elbahtimy is Senior Lecturer at War Studies Department and Co-director of the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS) at King's College London. His research focuses on the global politics of arms control. He is a Trustee and Executive Committee member of the British International Studies Association (BISA). He was chair then co-chair of BISA’s Global Nuclear Order Working Group 2017-2020 and currently chairs the L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First Book Prize

Sean Ekins is founder and CEO of Collaborations Pharmaceuticals Inc, a drug discovery company focused on using machine learning approaches for rare and neglected disease drug discovery. Ekins graduated from the University of Aberdeen; receiving his Ph.D. in clinical pharmacology and D.Sc. in science. He has authored or co-authored more than 300 peer reviewed papers and edited five books on different aspects of drug discovery research and using computational approaches.

Dr Filippa Lentzos is Senior Lecturer in Science & International Security at the Department of War Studies and Co-Director of the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS) at King's College London. She is also an Associate Senior Researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and a Non-Resident Scholar at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS).

Dr Tim Stevens is Senior Lecturer in Global Security in the Department of War Studies, and head of the Cyber Security Research Group. His research focuses on the politics and geopolitics of cybersecurity and he is currently writing a book on the international political economy of cyber risk. Stevens is a fellow at the Research Institute for Sociotechnical Cyber Security (RISCS) and Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (Cnam), Paris.

Professor Kathleen M Vogel is Professor and Interim Director in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University. Vogel holds a Ph in bio-physical chemistry from Princeton University. She has served previously in the USDepartment of State as a Jefferson Science Fellow and also as a William C Foster Fellow.

Chief of the Air Staff Sir Mike Wigston will speak at King's on the RAF’s ambitious target of NetZero carbon emissions by 2040

About this event

The Freeman Air and Space Institute, King's College London, is delighted to host Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, speaking on ‘Net Zero 2040: The Challenge for the Royal Air Force’.

This inaugural annual event for the Institute will take place on Tuesday 23 November at Bush House, King’s College London – 10 days after the conclusion of the COP26, UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

Earlier this year Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston set the RAF the ambitious target of Net Zero carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the government’s NetZero 2050 goal.

This will be a unique opportunity to hear from Chief of the Air Staff himself at a public event discussing this target in a context in which Defence accounts for 50% of the UK central government’s emissions and air and space activity represents a large proportion of that amount.

This in-person event will take the form of speech from Sir Mike Wigston, followed by questions from the audience. Places are limited so please sign-up soon.

Places can be booked in person or online.

Disclaimer: For in-person events we have a policy for overbooking for places given drop out rates on the day, so please ensure you arrive in good time to avoid disappointment on the night.

Air Chief Sir Mike Wigston biography:

Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston was appointed Chief of the Air Staff on 26 July 2019.

Commissioned on a University Cadetship in 1986, he completed his pilot training on the Tornado GR1 in 1992 followed by a succession of frontline tours, including operational deployments enforcing the no-fly zones in Iraq. He commanded 12(Bomber) Squadron, flying the Tornado GR4 and leading the Squadron on two operational tours in Iraq and large force exercises in Canada, Malaysia and the USA. Appointments in operational headquarters have included Al Udeid Airbase, Qatar, as the Chief of Combat Operations in the Combined Air and Space Operations Centre; Basrah International Airport, Iraq as Commander 903 Expeditionary Air Wing; and one year in Afghanistan as the Director Air Operations in Headquarters ISAF Joint Command.

Staff appointments in the Ministry of Defence have included the Operations Directorate and the predecessor to what is now Military Strategic Effects. In 2013, after a short spell as the Tornado Force Commander, he became the Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of Defence Staff. In January 2015, he was appointed Administrator of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia and Commander British Forces Cyprus, responsible for the civil governance of the Sovereign Base Areas and command of British forces based permanently in Cyprus.

Senior Royal Air Force appointments have included Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, responsible for the strategic coherence and coordination of the Royal Air Force, and oversight of the RAF100 centenary programme. Prior to becoming Chief of the Air Staff, he was Deputy Commander Capability, responsible for the strategic planning and delivery of all aspects of Royal Air Force capability including people, equipment, infrastructure and training.

Education and training includes: reading Engineering Science at Oriel College, Oxford; the Advanced Command and Staff Course; an MA in Defence Studies from King’s College London; the Higher Command and Staff Course; and the UK Pinnacle Course. He is a Vice Patron of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust and President of the Royal Air Force Rowing Association.

He is married to Kate, a solicitor, and they have two grown up children. In his spare time, he enjoys sailing.

Gazell.io Project Space is pleased to welcome Peter Burr with his digital art installation Dirtscraper.

About this event

Gazell.io Project Space is pleased to welcome Peter Burr - a master of computer animation with a gift for creating images and environments that hover on the boundary between abstraction and figuration. In recent years Burr has devoted himself to exploring the concept of an endlessly mutating labyrinth, his practice often engages with tools of the video game industry in the form of immersive cinematic artworks.

Join us for the opening night to discover the installation 'Dirtscraper' , which simulates an underground structure whose 'smart architecture' is overseen by artificial intelligences - spatial and social designers that observe, learn, and make changes to the system.

About Gazelli Art House

Founded in 2010 by Mila Askarova, Gazelli Art House brings a fresh perspective to Mayfair. The gallery champions artists from across the globe with a focus on those at the height of their practice, presenting and contextualising their work to new audiences.

With galleries in London and Baku, Gazelli Art House has a specialist focus in promoting art from Azerbaijan and its neighbours to further a greater understanding of the rich linguistic, religious and historic ties that connect this geography.

Since 2015, the gallery has expanded to support artists working in the realm of digital art through its online platform Gazell.io. In 2020, it established the Gazell.io Project Space and VR library, the first permanent home dedicated to digital art in Mayfair.www.gazelliarthouse.com

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @gazelliarthouse

For further press information, images and requests please contact: press@gazelliarthouse.com

Come to Coal Drops Yard and explore the international projects being delivered by London based teams, showcasing both the reach of the capital

About this event

Following the launch of NLA’s report London Design Capital, exploring the current impact of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic on London’s status as a global design hub, we take a closer look at some of the international projects that have been designed by London based practices that feature as part of the reports showcase.

Masterplans, infrastructure, mixed-use and residential projects from across the world illustrate both the reach of the capital’s skills and the breadth of expertise. How has Brexit and COVID-19 impacted these international projects? How have processes and ways of collaborating with other countries had to change and adapt?

Organiser New London Architecture

Organiser of London Design Capital Powered by Pecha Kucha

New London Architecture (NLA) is an independent forum for discussion, debate and information about architecture, planning, development and construction in the capital. Our core mission is to bring people together to shape a better city.

A busy year-round programme of events, research and exhibitions examines all issues affecting London’s built environment and attracts all those with a stake in the future of the city – politicians, professionals and the public. We bring the broadest group of people from all disciplines and communities together to share knowledge and debate the city’s unprecedented growth.

We are based at The Building Centre in central London where our giant interactive model of central London is free to visit six days a week.