Robin Wilson is an Emeritus Professor of Pure Mathematics at the Open University, and of Geometry at Gresham College, London, and is a Fellow of Keble College, Oxford University. A former President of the British Society for the History of Mathematics, he has been greatly involved with the popularization and communication of mathematics and its history. He has written and edited over 50 books and has received international awards for his expository writing and outreach activities. 

Over the past 50 years he has attempted, through his writings and over 1000 public talks and lectures, to ‘spread the word’ to a wide range of audiences – primary & secondary schoolchildren, college student groups, adult education groups, U3A groups, etc. 

Topics

Below is a list of some of Robin’s talks, all of which are on power-point and are highly illustrated. Key:  E = Elementary (designed for general audiences from schools to U3A, with minimal maths assumed), M = Medium (with some basic maths assumed), and A = advanced (at A level standard and above). 

• The origins of mathematics (E) introduces the mathematical activities of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India & the Mayans
• Stamping through mathematics (or The history of maths in 300 stamps) (E) covers the entire history of maths in one hour; a more elementary version (up to Newton) has worked well in primary schools. 
• Lewis Carroll in Numberland (E) describes the various mathematical activities of Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll).
• Isaac Newton – life, labours and legacy (E) has gone down well with U3As and other general-interest groups.
• Here’s looking at Euclid: 1000 years of Greek mathematics (M) ranges from Pythagoras & Plato to Euclid, Archimedes & beyond. 
• The story of π (M) ranges from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, via the Greeks, China and the Middle Ages, to the modern computer age.
• Connecting the dots: some problems in graph theory (M) presents six recreational puzzles, from the Königsberg bridges to the map-colour problem.
• Euler’s pioneering equation (A) on ‘the most beautiful equation in mathematics’ links the five most important constants in the subject: 1, 0, π, e and i.
• Four colours suffice (A) presents the history and solution of the map-colour problem of whether every map can be coloured with just four colours. 

In principle, Robin will travel anywhere in the UK, but must restrict his visits to venues that are easily reached from Oxford by public transport. For further information, please contact Robin.