Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Lectures

The Ollerenshaw Lecture is a prestigious annual lecture in the School of Mathematics at the University of Manchester, named in honour and recognition of Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw.

Born in Manchester, Dame Kathleen took her degree in Oxford and has since combined mathematics research with politics, in which sphere she has been Mayor of Manchester and an advisor on education to Margaret Thatcher's government. She is probably best known in mathematics for her work on magic squares, but also has a formidable reputation as an astronomer, and the observatory at the University of Lancaster bears her name. She is passionately committed to encouraging interest in mathematics amongst young people. She has been deaf since the age of eight, and is an inspiring role model to many. Dame Kathleen, who holds honorary degrees from both the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST, has been a long-standing friend and supporter of mathematics at Manchester, with an especially strong association with UMIST, and has continued to show strong interest and support for the new University of Manchester and the vision behind the '2015 Agenda'.

Forthcoming Lectures

28 Sept 2011
The Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Lecture
Professor Chris Budd, Maths In & Out of the Zoo
Alan Turing Building

Ollerenshaw Lecture 2011 Programme

Biography of Professor Chris Budd

If you would like to attend this event, please complete the registration form

Please note that all spaces for the 2011 event have now been allocated. However, if you would still like to attend, please complete the registration form and we will add your details to the reservation list and contact you should any cancellations be made.

Previous Lectures

14 May 2010
The Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Lecture
Professor Tim Gowers, Open Source Mathematics
G.107, Alan Turing Building

registration form

Programme (click to view)

4.30pm: Coffee and Registration – Atrium
5pm: Introduction - Professor Peter Duck Head of School of Mathematics
5.10 pm: Professor Timothy Gowers FRS, (Cambridge University) Open Source Mathematics: Mathematical research has traditionally been a very private pursuit, at least until the moment when the mathematician has a fully polished result to present. Early last year, as an experiment, I tried tackling a mathematical problem in a much more public way: I suggested an initial approach on my blog and invited anybody who wanted to, to contribute thoughts about how the problem might be solved. In this talk I shall discuss the experiment, its surprising outcome, and the problem itself.
Followed by questions
6pm: Closing Speech - Professor Colin Bailey Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences
6.15pm: Drinks reception – Atrium
7pm: Close

24 Oct 2007
The Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Lecture
Professor Peter Cameron, Sudoku, Latin squares, Geometry, and Hall's condition

Programme (click to view)

4.15pm: Reception and Registration - Atrium
4.30pm: Welcome to the Alan Turing Building - informal launch: Professor John Perkins, Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences
5.15pm: Ollerenshaw Lecture Commences: Opening speech - Professor Paul Glendinning
5.25: Sudoku, Latin squares, Geometry, and Hall's condition
Professor Peter Cameron - Queen Mary, University of London: Solutions to Sudoku puzzles form a special case of a type of combinatorial designs called gerechte designs, invented in the 1950's for designing experiments in agricultural research. Finding such designs includes such problems as finding a Latin square orthogonal to a given Latin square. Also, the problem of completing such a design from partial information was developed in statistics.

The experience of solving Sudoku puzzles suggests that finding such designs (with some values given) is hard. It is known that completing a partial Latin square is NP-hard. Some similar problems about gerechte designs are unsolved. The problem can be formulated to look like Hall's marriage theorem, but it is not known whether there are conditions analogous to Hall's which are necessary and sufficient for a solution.

Further conditions can be imposed. One variant, due to Robert Connelly, has particularly close connections to several topics in finite geometry: spreads, resolutions, and perfect codes.
Thanks, Professor Paul Glendinning
6.25pm: Drinks reception in the Atrium with optional tours around the new Alan Turing Building
7pm: Close

Speaker Biography (click to view)

Peter Cameron webpage

Photos from the event.

7 Mar 2007
The Inaugural Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Lecture
Professor Ian Stewart, FRS, Sunday Strolls and Trotting Pigs 300 years of networks
Professor Celia Hoyles, Engaging with mathematics: a challenge for the twenty-first century

Programme (click to view)

Venue: Rutherford Lecture Theatre, Schuster Building (number 54 on the campus map)

3.45pm: Arrival of guests to Rutherford Lecture Theatre, Schuster Building

4pm: Opening speech - Professor Paul Glendinning

Head of School of Mathematics , University of Manchester, Professor Paul Glendinning to chair proceedings and introduce speakers

4.05pm: Professor Ian Stewart FRS

Title: Sunday Strolls and Trotting Pigs 300 years of networks

4.50pm: Refreshments - Schuster Foyer

5.15pm: Professor Celia Hoyles

Title: Engaging with mathematics: a challenge for the twenty-first century

6pm: Professor Paul Glendinning

Close and thanks to speakers

6.05pm Professor Simon Gaskell

Vice President for Research(External Affairs), University of Manchester

Close and thanks to Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw

6.15pm: Drinks reception - Schuster Foyer

7pm: Close