The Random Sample

She is considered one of Australia’s greatest mathematicians. Professor Cheryl Praeger turned her passion for the mathematics of symmetry into a long and distinguished career at the University of Western Australia. In this episode, we chat with Cheryl about her career, her mathematics, the many honours she has been given, and her passion for advancing mathematics education and women in STEM. The R...

What can maths do for you? A new children’s book aims to give youngsters – and their parents and teachers – a glimpse of what’s possible if they study maths. It's called "Wondrous Worlds" and in this episode we chat to the author, ACEMS PhD Candidate Katie Buchhorn. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers. In...

In May, the mathematical sciences community celebrated international women in mathematics day. To mark the day, ACEMS hosted a panel discussion titled, "The Road Ahead for Women in STEM". Featuring three female leaders in Australian academia, we explored efforts to increase diversity in maths and science. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it take to test a vaccine? Among other things, some very important mathematical and statistical methodology! This episode doesn't tackle the specifics of any of the different COVID-19 vaccines, but rather it explores some of the maths and stats that was needed in their testing. We also hope to make you better consumers of all the news you see and hear when it comes to the different vacci...

For an eighth straight year, the Pint of Science Festival has just kicked off in Australia. Its aim is to give everyday people a chance to meet and interact with Australian scientists and find out what they’re doing is and also, to combat the stereotypes associated with science. In this episode, we’ll explore how the festival works, and meet two women who are taking part so that they can change th...

The term mathematical modelling takes on a whole new meaning for a group of Australian mathematicians. In this case, they are models. Or should we say, role models. They are part of the just-released “Australian Women of Mathematics” exhibit, launched as part of the 2021 International Women in Mathematics Day celebrations. In this episode, we introduce you to the exhibit, how it came together, and...

Mathematics has a numbers problem – at least when it comes to gender equity. But what if we could use maths to help fix the problem? That's just what Dr Eugenia Cheng is proposing we do. She's the author of a new book, "X+Y: A Mathematician's Manifesto to Rethinking Gender". In this episode, she describes how a mathematical approach to this issue could be the key to moving forward. The Random Samp...

In the last decade, a controversy called the 'replication crisis' rocked the scientific community. The crisis centered around the fact that many scientific studies were difficult or even impossible to reproduce. At the heart of the issue is statistical significance. In this episode, we explore the crisis, the questions around significance, and the possible solutions that are being considered. The...

The International Prize in Statistics is considered the top award in the field of statistics. This year, it was awarded to Harvard Biostatistician Professor Nan Laird. In this episode, we chat with Professor Laird about the award as she looks back on her career. Joining us is one of her former PhD students turned colleague, Harvard Professor Garrett Fitzmaurice. The Random Sample is a podcast by t...

When it comes to the number of women in mathematics, the numbers are low. In this episode, we explore why that is, the role women are being asked to play in making that change, and why many women are battling imposter syndrome. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers. In this show, we share stories about math...

Have you heard someone say they weren't good at maths or hated it at school? Is there such a thing as a 'maths person'? What does a mathematician do? In this episode, we make the case for maths, why it's important students not give up on it too soon and, more importantly, why they should do as much as they can. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence...

An Adelaide man, Graeme Denton, recently set a world record for the tallest free-standing soap bubble. It reached up 10.75 metres, or more than 35 feet, from the ground high into the air. ACEMS Chief Investigator Professor Matt Roughan did the maths that verified the record-breaking bubble attempt. In this episode, we talk to Graeme and Matt about the world-record-breaking soap bubble, what needed...

Data can unlock the answers to a lot of questions. But few researchers are asking some of the questions that QUT Professor Adrian Barnett is. In this episode, we explore some of the interesting problems and questions Adrian has looked into, why he chose them, and why he believes it’s more important than ever that we have access to open data sources. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian...

In the race for gold, athletes are always looking for a competitive edge. But could that edge now come from the mathematical sciences? There is more data than ever available now about athletes – and that data can tell us a lot about how these competitors are doing – or even how they might perform in the future. To do that, though, we need statistics to bring meaning to all that data. In this episo...

Moreton Bay, off the coast of Southeast Queensland, is home to an incredible array of iconic marine species like dugongs, turtles, dolphins, whales, fish, sharks and rays. But because it's so close to Brisbane, it's also a very busy bay for recreational and commercial traffic. And that's only going to increase. In this episode, we introduce you to a new project that will use statistical analysis -...

We explore the connections between mathematics and Aboriginal culture and how they can be used to transform how Aboriginal students learn maths. Also in this episode, we look into how these connections, and this education, might help all students and teachers when it comes to teaching and learning maths. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mat...

We sit down with four university students from around Australia who are studying maths and stats. When did they realise they wanted to study the mathematical sciences? The four students are at various stages of their academic journey. What has it been like so far? And do they think they’ve made the right choice and why? Our hope with this episode is to maybe get some young people to think about ma...

What can you do with a mathematics education? For Casey Briggs, he's turned it into a career with the ABC. In this episode, Casey talks about his role in communicating data and statistics, especially when it comes to a story like the COVID-19 pandemic. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical frontiers. In this show, we...

From business to biology, Professor Kerry Landman has taken her love for applied mathematics and made a huge impact. For some 40-years, she has devoted her career to cross-disciplinary research to help solve a wide range of problems. In 2019, she was named a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. In this episode podcast, Kerry talks about her career, some of the people who have impacted her...

Do you ever stop and think about how much time you spend on your mobile phone, or binge-watching your favourite TV show? Not surprisingly, tech companies and apps actually make those predictions - and they also sell those predictions. In this episode, we look investigate the disturbing possibility that companies might take it a step further by also getting us to do what they were predicting - or a...

One of the biggest issues we face is the deliberate spread of false information over platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Because of the network properties of those platforms, it’s not hard to see how wrong, or even dangerous, information can end up in the news feeds and the minds a lot of people. In this episode, we explore what a team of researchers is doing to tackle this pr...

Bayesian statistics help decide what email you get is spam. It can assess security and medical risks, decode DNA, enhance blurry pictures, help explain stock market volatility, predict the spread of an infectious disease, and its methods were even used by Alan Turing in World War 2 to crack the secret of the Nazi enigma code. In this episode, we explore the history of Bayes' theorem, the ideas beh...

It’s one of the fastest growing areas of mathematics, and for good reason. Mathematical biology tackles problems involving things like genetics, diseases, epidemics, ecology, population growth and extinction. The list could go on and on. In this episode, we explore the field of mathematical biology as we chat with one of Australia's rising stars in the field, QUT Professor Matthew Simpson. The Ran...

Professor James McCaw is one of the leaders of the pandemic modelling group advising Australia's National Cabinet. In this episode, Professor McCaw talks about the role mathematical modelling played in Australia's response to COVID-19, and we explore how this crisis has given many people a glimpse into how maths and stats can play a key role in tackling problems they wouldn’t expect. The Random Sa...

The closest thing to a crystal ball that many organisations and businesses have to look into the future is what’s called a forecast. Not for weather, but for so many other things like product sales, or unemployment figures, or energy usage. In this episode, ACEMS Chief Investigator Professor Rob Hyndman gives us a glimpse into how forecasting works and how it continues to develop. The Random Sampl...