Election of new Warden at Keble College, Oxford

The new Warden of Keble College, Oxford, who will succeed Professor Dame Averil Cameron in Michaelmas Term 2010 is Sir Jonathan Phillips KCB, currently Permanent Secretary to the Northern Ireland Executive.

Preprint: "Examples of quantum cluster algebras associated to partial flag varieties" (arXiv:0907.4922)

A preprint of my latest paper is now available on the arXiv via the above link. The abstract for this paper is as follows:

We give several explicit examples of quantum cluster algebra structures, as introduced by Berenstein and Zelevinsky, on quantized coordinate rings of partial flag varieties and their associated unipotent radicals. These structures are shown to be quantizations of the cluster algebra structures found on the corresponding classical objects by Geiß, Leclerc and Schröer, whose work generalizes that of several other authors. We also exhibit quantum cluster algebra structures on the quantized enveloping algebras of the Lie algebras of the unipotent radicals.

Another mathematical blog and podcast

Peter Rowlett of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) has a website travelsinamathematicalworld.co.uk, featuring a blog, a regular podcast and associated show notes. Topics covered are mostly applied and applicable mathematics (which is most of mathematics, after all!) but also include monthly history and news slots, including brief biographies of famous mathematicians and snippets from mathematics on the web and in the media. Podcasts are usually around 15 minutes long and are a great way to hear about the ubiquitous presence of mathematics in modern life. After all, the media player you listen to the podcast on uses lots of mathematics: coding and signal processing for starters, and maybe graphics and encryption too, if it's your phone.

Snow in Oxford

Pusey Quad, Keble College, Oxford, with a view of the University Museum.

"The Story of Maths" - a new TV series on the BBC

BBC/OU Open2.net - The Story of Maths

"The Story of Maths" is a new 4-part TV series on the history of mathematics, presented by Prof. Marcus du Sautoy and produced by the BBC and the Open University. The first episode will be broadcast at 9pm on Monday 6th October on BBC Four. For more information, see the programme's homepage, at the link above.