October 2011 NUI Galway Hold Number of Events for Maths Week

Maths Week Ireland will take place throughout the country from 15 to 22 October. As part of this week, a number of fun maths-filled events will be hosted by theSchool ofMathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics at NUI Galway to promote an appreciation and an awareness of maths in society.

On Monday, 17 October, Dr Steve Humble, also known as “Dr Maths”, will give workshops to primary and secondary school audiences at NUI Galway. Dr Humble is one of the topUKmaths presenters and has worked for The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics in the North East of England. He believes that the fundamentals of mathematics can be taught via practical experiments.

During the second half of the week, there will be several special maths workshops held at the University to highlight the importance, usefulness, and enjoyment of mathematics. These workshops, delivered by Dr David O’Keeffe, Lecturer with theSchoolofMathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics at NUI Galway, will be focused at primary and secondary school students. Topics explored at these sessions will include how Julius Caesar used maths to protect his empire and how blind people do and read maths.

Dr David O'Keeffe, chief organiser of Maths Week events at NUI Galway, said: “Often a question asked by many is ‘why do we need maths?’ It is important to remember that maths is in use all around us every day. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find something that does not involve mathematics in some way. Even if we never study maths as a subject, there are many uses of mathematics in all the sciences, business and technological fields. Playing video games that have puzzles to solve, how the Google search engine works for instance all involves doing mathematics. The idea of Maths Week is to illustrate the relevance and beauty of this subject in a fun and interactive way.”

Schools throughout Galwayand beyond are encouraged to participate in these special events to make maths accessible to a wider audience and can register on the maths week website www.mathsweek.ie. Schools who register will also be in with a chance to win a Promethean Interactive Whiteboard.

For further information on Maths Week at NUI Galway contact David O'Keeffe at

david.okeeffe@nuigalway.ie  or 091 492740.

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