Visit Mathematics of Planet Earth Exhibition 2020

Posted by & filed under Events, News.

The MPE CDT warmly invites you to visit the ‘Mathematics of Planet Earth’ Exhibition, which will be displayed in the main entrance of Imperial’s South Kensington Campus, between Saturday 15 February – Sunday 23 February 2020.

Free entry – all welcome!

About the exhibition

Mathematics of Planet Earth is an international exhibition displaying exhibits, videos and computer programs illustrating how mathematics plays a role in answering essential questions that concern our planet. Through a series of graphics, visualisations and hands-on experiments you will discover the contributions that mathematics makes to topics such as astronomy, fluid dynamics, seismology, glaciology and cartography. The MPE CDT will provide a number of activities and tours available for families and children of all ages.

For more information, the exhibition booklet is available here.

Please download the flyer here.

Opening event

  • Date: 15 February 2020
  • Time: 12.00
  • Location: Imperial College Main Entrance, Exhibition Road, South Kensington Campus, SW7 2AZ

Join us for the official opening event, where we look forward to speeches from Professor Jennifer Scott (Director of Reading MPE CDT), Professor Richard Craster (Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences), and Felicity Buchan MP.  After the ribbon cutting ceremony, officiated by Felicity Buchan MP, hear insights from students and staff from the MPE CDT as they give a guided tour of the exhibition.

Register for the opening event here >

Guided tours

Hour-long guided tours run each day of the exhibition (apart from Saturday 15 February when the exhibition opens at 12.00). Guided tours are offered on the hour starting at 10.00am and are limited to 15 guests at a time; the last tour commences at 17.00. To book a tour, please email the MPE CDT.

Public lectures

The MPE Exhibition programme also includes a public lecture series, featuring an array of outstanding and fascinating talks.

  • Date: Wednesday, 19th February 2020
    Time: 17:00
    Venue: ICSM 402, EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training Suite on Level 4N
    Speaker: Prof Onno Bokhove (British-Dutch mathematician/fluid dynamics analyst School of Mathematics, University of Leeds, Leeds, UKniversity of Leeds)
    Title: Managing river floods in an age of extremes: should we be more worried?
    Abstract:
    I am an applied mathematician who began considering the science and policy of flooding after participating in a rescue operation in Leeds during the 2015 Boxing Day floods. That flood was of a magnitude expected only once in 200 plus years (on average). But what does ‘once in 200 plus years (on average)’ mean? To express the answer to this question visually, we designed the “Wetropolis flood demonstrator”.Wetropolis conceptualises the science of flooding in a way that assists the experience and visualisation of uncertainty, extreme rainfall and flooding. It is accessible to and directly engages the general public, and it is showcased here at the MPE exhibition.Over the last few years, citizens’ flood-action groups have called me in to provide advice and explain the science of flooding and extremes; this can be a challenging task, and being able to showcase Wetropolis live has been a great help in that regard. Motivated by Wetropolis and the 2015 Boxing Day floods, we created a graphical cost-effectiveness analysis to assess and communicate various flood-mitigation options in a way that would be understandable for both members of the public and decision-makers.Numerous severe (river) flooding events have occurred in the UK over the last two decades. In addition to showing how the Wetropolis flood demonstrator works, I will be addressing various questions that recent flooding events have made more pressing:- Will it really rain more in the future, especially due to climate change?
    – How well do we predict precipitation and flooding?
    – Can we define extreme precipitation and flooding events? What is a return period?
    – How well can we predict precipitation and flooding?
    – Just how good are things like beaver dams, natural flood management, and flood-plain storage, at mitigating floods?
    – If we aren’t sure, how can we test and discuss the effectiveness of flood-mitigation measures?
    – Finally, are we worried enough about future extreme flooding events?
  • Date: Thursday, 20th February 2020
    Time: 17:00
    Venue: ICSM 402, EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training Suite on Level 4N
    Speaker: Prof Chris Budd (University of Bath)
    Title:  The maths of climate change
    Abstract:
    Climate change is important, controversial, and the subject of huge debate. Much of our understanding of the future climate comes from the use of complex climate models based on mathematical and physical ideas.
    In this talk, I will describe how these models work and the assumptions that go into them. I will discuss how reliable our predictions of climate change are, and show how maths can give us insights into both past (such as the ice ages) and future.
    The talk will include a number of practical demonstrations and should be accessible to all.

Public lectures will take place at the South Kensington Campus, ICSM Building, room 402 in the EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training Suite on Level 4N. Please note that the entrance to the EPSRC CDT hub is via the Sherfield building level 2 Lift lobby (A2 on this map). There is no access to the space via the Central Library.

Interact online

Contact us

 

Sponsored by EPSRC, Imperial College London, University of Reading, QSRI