Vasos Pavlika grew up in Wood Green, North London. He completed his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Physics following this with a master’s degree in applied mathematics as well as completing a PhD in Mathematical Physics (Magnetostatics and Fluid Dynamics). He has been lecturing for 35+ years having spent 3 years in FE and the remainder in HE. He is currently Associate Professor (Education) at UCL, Director of Studies of the Physical Sciences in the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford, a departmental tutor in the History of Mathematics and Science in the Department of Continuing Education at the University of Cambridge. Previously Vasos has lectured at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Birkbeck College and SOAS, University of London.

Vasos has won many awards for his teaching at UCL and LSE winning the “Best Teacher” award on many occasions. He has lectured on the History of Mathematics at Oxford since 2004 on weekend, 10/20 weeklong courses as well as weeklong courses, he is member of the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and member of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Mathematics. Vasos is also Fellow (CMath, CSci and CMathTeach) with the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. Vasos conducts research in Applied Mathematics, Fluid Dynamics, Mathematical Modelling, Magnetostatics, Mathematics Education and the History of Mathematics.   

Topics

Vasos is flexible about the mathematical topics he would cover. He usually discusses potential topics in advance with the class teacher, as he likes to get students involved in his classes with discussions. Thus, Vasos adjusts the topic covered depending on students' mathematical level and skills. 

To date Vasos has given over 50 lectures on the History of Mathematics and Science for students from ages approximately 17-82. In these talks he focusses on examples from the History of Mathematics and on getting students to appreciate the rationale and reasons why the mathematics was developed and by whom. Some examples that he has delivered include:

• Hilbert and his 23 problems, the problem themselves as well as the solvers. 
• Various discussions around the Mathematics of the Greeks of antiquity including Pythagoras, Euclid, Archimedes amongst others. 
• A historical overview of the theory of equations.
• The Prince of Mathematics: J.C.F Gauss.

Please contact Vasos for more information.