SUMS - Sydney University Mathematics Society

🌟 WEEK 3: WEEKLY MATHS TALK 🌟



📄 Title: “It’s just a jump to the left: adventures in advection”
📣 Speaker: Mary Myerscough

🗓️ DATE: Thursday 20th August 2026
⏰ TIME: 1pm
📍 LOCATION: F07.03.373.Carslaw Building.Carslaw Lecture Theatre 373

Description: Advection equations are first order differential equations that model how given quantities change with time and with another variable, for example space or age of individuals. This type of equation is used to represent plumes of pollution or age-structured populations.

We will start with some simple examples to give you a feel for what these equations can do and then look at how an advection equation model for the population of macrophages (a type of white blood cell) inside an atherosclerotic plaque can help us think about what cellular behaviours influence plaque growth.

Bio: Mary completed her DPhil (=PhD) in Mathematical Biology under the supervision of Professor JD Murray at Oxford a very long time ago. She undertook postdoctoral studies at Macquarie University where she was a walking identity crisis, as a mathematician studying an ecological problem in the School of Chemistry. Her
work has covered applications ranging from honeybees to heart attacks, and uses mathematical techniques that stretch from large individual-based simulations to detailed analysis of PDEs. Her research mindset has been described as “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” but she has found working in angel-avoidant areas scientifically interesting, mathematically challenging and immensely satisfying.

🌟 WEEK 2: WEEKLY MATHS TALK 🌟



📄 Title: Gamification in mathematics
📣 Speaker: Daniel Tubbenhauer

Abstract: Mathematics is usually not done by pulling virtual ropes around on a screen. But maybe it could be? In this talk I will explain the basic idea of unknotting a knot, why unknotting numbers are surprisingly hard to compute, and how a puzzle game might turn human intuition into useful mathematical data. The talk will be friendly, visual, and include a live demo of our game Unknot!

🗓️ DATE: Thursday 13th August 2026
⏰ TIME: 1pm
📍 LOCATION: F07.03.373.Carslaw Building.Carslaw Lecture Theatre 373

Bio: Dani Tubbenhauer is a mathematician at the University of Sydney. Their work moves between representation theory, categorification, quantum topology, algebraic combinatorics, and computational experiments in mathematics. They are especially fond of diagrams, knots, symmetry, and questions where abstract mathematics meets something unexpectedly concrete, such as games, pictures, or data.

The Jane Streeet Inter-University Math Competition is coming this September, with a **$7,250 AUD** prize pool 🤑 sponsored by Jane Street‼️

Open to university students across Oceania, the competition will run across two rounds.

Round 1 will consist of a **two-hour numerical-entry paper**, sat remotely through a web browser and administered by participating university mathematics societies. The competition will be held synchronously across Oceania, with questions roughly comparable to the final problems of the Australian Mathematics Competition, easier AIMO problems, or GUTS-style competition problems.

The highest-performing students (roughly 25 across all participating societies) will advance to Round 2 in Sydney.

Finalists will receive fully paid flights, accommodation and catering for a multi-day trip to Sydney, including two days to explore the city (the total grant value for this is over **twenty thousand AUD**) before sitting a four-hour in-person final at approximately SMMC/Putnam difficulty. The event will also feature talks from Jane Street, the presentation of prizes, and potential employment opportunities for top performers.

The first-round exam will be held on a weekday between 31 August and 4 September. Further details will be released closer to the competition.

Expressions of Interest are now open. Students who complete the EOI and participate in Round 1 will also be eligible for a raffle regardless of their performance:

https://forms.gle/CFiRZNr5sw2z5nnm8

For questions about how the competition will be administered at your university, please contact your local participating society.

For questions about the structure of the competition, contact:
`[email protected]`

We’re excited to announce the incredible companies joining us for Industry Networking Night 2026!

✨ Meet representatives from:
• Citadel Securities
• Jane Street
• VivCourt Trading
• Visagio
• Endgame Economics
• FDM Group

Whether you’re interested in trading, data, consulting, technology or finance, this is your chance to connect with industry professionals, ask questions, and gain valuable insights into graduate opportunities and internships.

📅 Thursday, 13 August 2026
🕕 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
📍 Sutherland Room, Holme Building

🛎️PEP HOURS AVAILABLE

🚀 Ready to kick-start your career?

Join us for SUMS’ Industry Networking Night and connect with industry professionals, gain career insights, and explore internship and graduate opportunities.

📅 Thursday, 13 August 2026
🕕 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
📍 Sutherland Room, Holme Building

📢PEP HOURS AVAILABLE

Register via the link in our bio

Your edge starts here.
IMC Sydney Launchpad 2026 applications are open.
Three days. Two tracks. One program.
Choose your track: Trading and Quant Research, or Engineering. Then spend three days in the Sydney office tackling trading simulations, technical challenges, and projects while working closely with IMC traders, researchers, and engineers.
This program is designed for STEM students graduating in 2028/29 who want to test their thinking and experience life at one of the world’s leading trading firms.
Love solving tough problems? If this excites you, you'd thrive in Launchpad. Apply now!
👉 Apply through LINKTREE in BIO

Struggling with MATH2021? We got you 😈

Review + practice + all questions answered.
🗓 June 12, 1–3pm @ Carslaw 157–257
Pull up and clutch your exam 💪