Geordie Williamson
Geordie Williamson
University of Sydney Director, Sydney Mathematical Research Institute
Geordie Williamson is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Sydney and the inaugural Director of the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute. His major research interests are in algebra, geometry, number theory and a branch of pure mathematics known as representation theory. One of Geordie’s current research interests is exploring how machine learning can help mathematicians solve diverse problems.
Geordie studied mathematics at the University of Sydney and completed his PhD in Mathematics in 2008 at the University of Freiburg, Germany. After several years spent working as a mathematician at the University of Oxford and the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, Geordie returned to the University of Sydney in 2017.
In 2018 he co-founded the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute (SMRI), NSW’s first (and only) mathematical research centre. SMRI has attracted over 100 of the world’s best mathematical minds to undertake research in NSW since its inception in 2018.
In 2018, Geordie was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Royal Society of the United Kingdom. He has been awarded with four major international mathematics prizes and was recently awarded with the 2022 NSW Premier’s Prize for Excellence in Mathematics.
Geordie studied mathematics at the University of Sydney and completed his PhD in Mathematics in 2008 at the University of Freiburg, Germany. After several years spent working as a mathematician at the University of Oxford and the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, Geordie returned to the University of Sydney in 2017.
In 2018 he co-founded the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute (SMRI), NSW’s first (and only) mathematical research centre. SMRI has attracted over 100 of the world’s best mathematical minds to undertake research in NSW since its inception in 2018.
In 2018, Geordie was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Royal Society of the United Kingdom. He has been awarded with four major international mathematics prizes and was recently awarded with the 2022 NSW Premier’s Prize for Excellence in Mathematics.
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Related Sessions
AI, Maths and Intuition. Adam Spencer & Geordie Williamson
MON, OCT 16, 10:30 AM
Conference
Artificial intelligence can do all sorts of amazing things, from recommending shows on Netflix to analysing medical images. But can it actually contribute to one of the most challenging of human intellectual endeavours: pure mathematics?
Geordie Williamson is one of the world’s foremost mathematicians. He’s well known for his contributions to representation theory, a branch of pure maths. Geordie has worked with AI on some seriously thorny problems, some of which have gone unsolved for 40 years.
Geordie recently teamed up with AI lab DeepMind to use machine learning to explore conjectures and suggest new mathematical theorems. How did that go? Did they help him to a higher level of perception? Or was the AI’s only contribution something like: “Seriously, have you heard Joe Rogan’s latest truth bomb?”
Find out as Australia’s favourite maths geek, Adam Spencer, wrestles with one of our most amazing minds.
