If you look up combinatorics on Wikipedia, it’s described as ‘a branch of mathematics primarily concerned with counting’. You might be forgiven for thinking, if you have studied maths at school level but not encountered … Weiterlesen

One of the main prizes celebrated at the Heidelberg Laureate Forum each year is the Abel Prize – established on 1 January 2002, the Abel Prize recognises outstanding scientific work in the field of mathematics, … Weiterlesen

A popular joke among mathematicians goes as follows: Infinitely many mathematicians walk into a bar, and the first one orders a pint of beer; the second orders half a pint, and the next orders a … Weiterlesen

Carsten Könneker, Philipp Niemann, Christoph Böhmert The demand for science communication to the public (the so-called external science communication) is currently becoming louder and louder against the background of the debates on “fake science” and … Weiterlesen

The internet is an interesting place. I’m often told that people are being ‘baffled’ or ‘stumped’ by ‘maths puzzles’ – despite the fact that many people find maths intimidating, or didn’t get on well with … Weiterlesen

Emmy Noether was a German mathematician who lived from 1882 to 1935, and made huge contributions to the worlds of mathematics and physics. She is a shining example of an excellent mathematical mind, but also … Weiterlesen

One of the great things about working in maths or computer science is that if you’re the inventor or discoverer of a really nice piece of mathematical theory, it will often be named after you. … Weiterlesen

It’s a New Year, and with it comes a new four-digit number. When faced with a number like 2019, it’s the mathematician’s natural instinct to do maths with it. Having quickly checked whether the year … Weiterlesen

At this time of year, you’ll see a lot of decorations around and a lot of shapes – stars, trees, snowmen, and so on. One shape you might not see many of though, is the … Weiterlesen

One big story in UK finance at the moment is the new design for the £50 note. UK banknotes change design roughly once every 10-20 years, and since the 1960s have included, in addition to … Read more

Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” As a mathematician, I would immediately dispute this – there are definitely mathematical facts it’s possible to … Read more

When I moved to studying maths at university, I was stunned by the great variety of concepts, structures and objects that university-level maths finds completely normal, but that you barely even think about at school … Read more

This year the HLF hosted the Women of Mathematics exhibition, that has been shown in already 18 countries since its creation in 2016. Here is a graphic summary of the HLF edition of this exhibition. … Weiterlesen

Following the tradition, Friday’s activities of the HLF moved to the SAP headquarters in Walldorf, near Heidelberg. It was a welcome change of scenery to finish a week of hard work, and talks by laureates … Read more

At the HLF, we are used to seeing laureates give lectures and meeting enthousiastic young researchers. However, the HLF is also an opportunity for young researchers to showcase their cutting edge research, and exchange their … Weiterlesen

The 6th annual Heidelberg Laureate Forum ended with a tour, reception, and lovely dinner at Heidelberg Castle. It was a time for reflection and celebration for an amazing once-in-a-lifetime week for the students. As a … Weiterlesen

Earlier this year, one of our colleagues made an interesting observation about the Wikiquote page for Mathematics. Wikiquote collects interesting and pithy statements, with references, and categorises them by subject. What our friend Colin had … Weiterlesen

Since last year’s panel discussion on Women on Science, the HLF has made a conscious effort to include discussions on the subject among its activities.  Together with the exhibition “Women of Mathematics throughout Eruope”, Friday … Weiterlesen

Netzwerke sind für das Heidelberg Laureate Forum das A und O. Zum einen im zwischenmenschlichen Sinne: mit dem HLF als Chance für junge Forscher, mit Preisträgern aus ihren Fächern und untereinander zu diskutieren, Erfahrungen auszutauschen … Weiterlesen

The Heidelberg Laureate Forum is all about networking. Mostly in the usual sense of the word, of course: a chance for young researchers to meet laureates in mathematics and computer science, to interact with some … Weiterlesen