AIMS South Africa Newsletter March 2025

[African Institute for Mathematical Sciences]

The Modern Statistics and Machine Learning for Population Health in Africa Workshop       This workshop, organised by the Department of Mathematics at Imperial College London, the Machine Learning and Global Health Network, and AIMS South Africa, took place at AIMS from 24 to 28 March 2025. It brought together 34 AIMS students and 15 local and international participants from universities and industry. The course was presented by Alexandra Blenkinsop, Tristan Naidoo, Josh Corneck, Shozen Dan, and Michael Whitehouse from Imperial College     London; Juliette Unwin from the University of Bristol; and Sahoko Ishida from the University of Oxford.    We extend our gratitude to our partners at Imperial College London and the Machine Learning and Global Health Network for the fruitful collaboration. The future of data-driven health solutions in Africa is bright!    Read more       International Masterclass – Hands-on Particle Physics       On 13 March 2025, AIMS hosted its first ever International Masterclass, Hands-on Particle Physics. This outreach event offers high school students the chance to become a particle physicist for one day.       After a (gentle) theoretical introduction, the participants learned how to identify particles and perform a simplified (yet challenging) analysis with real data from CERN!       Prof. Claire David, the Academic Director of the AI for Science programme at AIMS, is also an experimental particle physicist and member of the ATLAS collaboration. The International Masterclass featured the ATLAS experiment, one of the detectors of the Large Hadron Collider, the particle accelerator located at CERN.    Read more       Researcher Updates    On 28 March 2025, Siyabonga Mthimkulu, a PhD student at the AIMS Research Centre, delivered a seminar talk in the Topology for Tomorrow Seminar Series at the University of the Western Cape. The talk, titled “Internal Sums of Fibrations: Towards Double Fibrations,” highlighted properties of fibrations that have proven to be incredibly useful in categorical logic and type theory. The presentation aimed both to emphasize their importance and to outline an approach for constructing these structures within higher categorical frameworks, particularly double categories. This initiative is expected to pave the way for a novel field of research in higher type theory, with potential applications in advanced functional programming.       Prof. Weltman at WITS    In March the HEPCAT Group hosted a wonderful short workshop with a range of international and local researchers. Prof. Amanda Weltman also visited WITS University and gave a talk and had some meetings to discuss the work the group is doing at AIMS. The group also expanded in March as they welcomed a new student, Zanothando Kubheka, from WITS.    On 12 March, Dr Ryan Sweke, German Research Chair at AIMS South Africa, gave a talk titled: ‘The potential and limitations of Quantum Machine Learning’, in the Quantum Perspectives: WITS and IBM Seminar Series. This was followed by a panel discussion with Dr Isaac Nape and Dr Stephanie Muller.    AIMS Seminars    On 5 March, Prof. Ludger Overbeck Giessen University, Germany, gave a seminar titled: ‘Time-inhomogeneous stochastic volterra equation and applications.’       On 18 March, Prof. Dr Sara Vieira-Silva, Associate Professor at the IMMH, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Adjunct Director at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Mainz, gave a seminar titled “Computational & systems Medicine”.          Student Updates    Kenneth Dadedzi    Students on the Mathematical Master's stream completed the following courses in March:  SAGE (Kenneth Dadedzi University of Ghana); Invariant Rings and Quotient Varieties (Takehiko Yasuda, Osaka University Toyonaka); Formal Methods for Software Development (Jaco Geldenhuys) and Classical Mechanics (Bastien Duboeuf, Laboratoire de Physique ENS de Lyon).    Takehiko Yasuda Jaco Geldenhuys Marta Spinelli &  Landman Bester, Philipp Berens    In March the AI for Science stream finished AI for Radio Astronomy (Marta Spinelli, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur &  Landman Bester, South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, SARAO); Simulation and Inference for Neuroscience (Philipp Berens, University of Tübingen & Pedro Gonçalves, Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders, NERF assisted by Jonas Beck, University of Tübingen); and Deep Generative Models and Generative AI (Jan-Willem van de Meent, University of Amsterdam & AMLab assisted by Floor Eijkelboom, University of Amsterdam)    Pedro Gonçalves Jan-Willem van de Meent    Maths Day Celebration Merges Art and Mathematics at AIMS South Africa       On Saturday, 15 March 2025, AIMS South Africa played host to an inspiring Maths Day event as part of an international twinning project that connects young learners from South Africa and Germany. The celebration welcomed a group of passionate Grade 4 girls from Molo Mhlaba Schools for a hands-on exploration of the mathematical beauty inherent in art and design.         The activity was designed to spark creativity and critical thinking through interactive sessions where students delved into concepts such as tessellations and aperiodic tilings. Using shapes, colour, and a keen sense of imagination, the girls uncovered the patterns that permeate our everyday environment.       Read more       In Memoriam: Emmanuel Kongolo       It is with deep sadness that we remember Emmanuel Kongolo, a dear friend and long-standing colleague of the AIMS community, who passed away unexpectedly on 15 March 2025.    Fondly referred to by Prof. Neil Turok as the “real” founder of AIMS, Emmanuel's connection to the Institute predates its formal establishment. He and his family lived in the main building on Melrose Road, which was then owned by the Turok family, long before it became home to AIMS. As the caretaker of the     property, Emmanuel played an integral role in maintaining the space up until renovations began in late 2002.    Following the completion of those renovations in 2003, Emmanuel was appointed as my assistant in managing AIMS facilities and logistics. Together, we navigated the formative years of the Institute, often under great pressure and with limited resources. For seven years, it was just the two of us, working long hours to lay the foundations of what would become a centre of excellence in mathematical sciences. Those early days were challenging, but Emmanuel faced them with quiet determination and an unwavering commitment.     Beloved by staff and students alike, Emmanuel was affectionately known by many names in the facilities department — “Bobby,” “Prophet,” or simply “Moses.” His warmth, humour, and humility left a lasting impression on everyone who crossed his path.     Emmanuel lived his life with dignity and purpose. His contributions to AIMS were immeasurable and his legacy is deeply woven into the fabric of the Institute. May his memory live on, and may his efforts continue to inspire those who walk the halls he helped shape.       Teaching tip for lecturers!       Hard and Easy    Give an example that is really hard or complicated and one that is easy or simple. What makes them hard or easy? The examples students choose reveal a good deal about what they find difficult, and it is not always the concepts that are the source of difficulty. For example, they may be happy with trig ratios but flounder with the algebraic manipulation involved in using them; they may be happy with the process of solving linear equations involving integers but fearful of using decimals or fractions.          Click here to unsubscribe from our mailing list.