“My six-week SRS research topic was really enjoyable. I enjoyed learning something completely new whilst utilising tools I had learnt in previous years.”

Akito Koike, The University of Sydney

Past Student Blog Posts

Solve This Puzzle To Understand Semigroup Presentations

Luka Carroll

Western Sydney University

Abstract: Can you solve this puzzle? If you can, great work! You’ll have proven an important mathematical result and gained ...
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Relearning How to Love Mathematics

Yangda Bei

Australian National University

Abstract Many students enter university with a passion for mathematics, only to find themselves disillusioned by its abstract and rigorous ...
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Knots Everywhere: A Summer Research Story

Uli Krahn

The University of New England

‘And now we work’, said my supervisor, the week after I got accepted for SRS. This suited me fine, it’s ...
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How Cloud Computing Helps Large-Scale Data Analysis

Toby Mew

Monash University

Organisations like the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collect and manage a large amount of data to estimate key population ...
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Post-Quantum Security: Rethinking Cryptography before it’s too Late

Shirley Wang

The University of Sydney

Abstract: Prime numbers are deceptively simple yet incredibly powerful. They are the foundation of modern cryptography, securing everything from online ...
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Modular Algorithms for Computation in Simple Algebraic Extension Fields

Mitchell Holt

The University of Queensland

Abstract: A much-celebrated method for fast algorithms is to do computation on shadows of mathematical objects, instead of on the ...
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Decoding Sound: How Mathematics Helps Phonetic Spelling Correction

Louisa Best

Deakin University

Abstract Have you ever wondered why some people spell words exactly as they sound? For individuals who tend to spell ...
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Uncertainty in Structural Phylogenetic Analysis

LI FU ZHANG

The University of Melbourne

Abstract: Nowadays, artificial intelligence is revolutionizing many fields, including mathematics. As an important branch of bioinformatics, phylogenetics, which is the ...
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Deep Learning in Hidden Markov Models

Kyan Percevault

The University of Adelaide

Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) have many applications, including in the identification of genes which code for proteins within a sequence ...
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Vertex Operator Algebras and the Monster

James Jensen

The University of Western Australia

One of the greatest achievements of modern mathematics is the classification of finite simple groups, the culmination of over 10,000 ...
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Fast and Furious Bayesian Inference!

Jack Fewtrell

Queensland University of Technology

Abstract: Mathematical models often have unknown parameters which can be determined by fitting them to data using Bayesian inference methods ...
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The Magnetic Dance of Liquids: How Electromagnetic Forces Shape Fluid Flow

Ishwarabroto Mridha

Swinburne University of Technology

Abstract Have you ever wondered how magnets can make liquids move? Scientists are uncovering the hidden forces that shape liquid ...
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Tempo-Spatial Analysis of Australian Fuel Price Dynamics

Gurushey Deo

The University of Queensland

Abstract: Have you ever driven past a servo in the morning, then looked again at lunch to see the price ...
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“Oh, I could never study maths!”

Faith Sawers

The University of Adelaide

Abstract: Maths is a vast and beautiful discipline, with many applications, research, industry, and everyday life. Yet it is often ...
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Feral Pigs, Mosquitoes, and Japanese Encephalitis: A Viral Time Bomb?

Emma Naumann

James Cook University

Abstract: Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a mosquito-borne disease with potentially deadly consequences for humans and animals. Once considered a ...
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Mathematics is Scary

Emily Sykes

Macquarie University

Abstract: The vastness and difficulty of mathematics is a big challenge. Embracing the uncertainty associated with learning new things has ...
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Options are very easy to explain, yet very difficult to quantify.

Billy Bourdaniotis

The University of New South Wales

Abstract Over the Summer Holidays, I investigated pricing models for a specific style of option called American options. I was ...
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Rolling the Dice on Maths

Bernice Laitly

The University of New South Wales

Abstract: This blog explores my relationship with maths—why I never considered myself a “maths person” (and still don’t!), how I ...
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Why Maths is Awesome

Ben Cicchini

Queensland University of Technology

Abstract: While you may not enjoy maths, or think that it is necessary, it plays a vital role in how ...
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The Gauss-Bonnet theorem

Annalisa Calvi

Monash University

Abstract: The Gauss-Bonnet theorem is an interesting and non-trivial classical theorem. It says that surfaces with certain similar properties will ...
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Creating beautiful, intricate patterns with mathematics

Akito Koike

The University of Sydney

Abstract Fractals are geometric shapes with detail at any scale. Many fractals are self-similar. What this means is that it ...
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Hidden randomness in Dirichlet’s problem

Aidan Petrowski

The University of Melbourne

Abstract: Mathematicians and physicists have long been interested in figuring out how heat settles to equilibrium in different media. Usual ...
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Checkmate and Calculations: Embracing the Beauty of Problem Solving Through Chess, Math, and Research

Aaron Alonso Garcia

La Trobe University

Abstract: In this blog, I share my journey connecting the strategic realms of chess, mathematics, and scientific research. Growing up ...
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The Alternating Sign Matrix Conjecture and The Beauty of Mathematics

Ainsley Nicoll

The University of Melbourne

Something that I have always admired as I’ve learnt mathematics is its amazing ability to connect disparate and seemingly distinct ...
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Finding Questions

Lekh Bhatia

Australian National University

There is a convincing and prevalent rhetoric that beneath mathematics lies a deep and elegant mystery, and that the questions ...
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Cell Type Deconvolution using LDA!

Yichen Jiang

The University of Melbourne

Abstract: Cell Type Deconvolution is the process of uncovering cell type proportions in a biological tissue. Although it does not ...
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How learning by doing has inspired me

Rebecca Milne

Queensland University of Technology

Abstract: Research is something that is talked about a lot in the world but rarely do people get a chance ...
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I am happy to love maths

Nina Hadzivukovic

Queensland University of Technology

As I see it, according to the media, finding “love” is the number one way to bring meaning to one’s ...
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Unveiling the Joy of Math: From Stress to Passion

Minh Thu Nguyen

Swinburne University of Technology

Abstract: Discover how enduring long school days and parental pressure shaped my passion for math in a demanding academic environment ...
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Exploring Techniques for Low-Diameter Networks in High-Performance Computing

Matthew Cochran

Deakin University

Abstract: In this blog post, we delve into the fascinating world of graph theory and its intersection with computational mathematics ...
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The Journey of Mathematics

Liam Barnes

The University of Newcastle

Anyone who knows me, even just a little, also knows that I have a passion for Mathematics. Admittedly, it is ...
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Equivariant Homology and Cohomology

Kenrick Chung

University of New South Wales

Abstract Homology and Cohomology are functors which describe a topological spaces geometry. These invariants tell us loosely speaking about how ...
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SO(n)-invariant Einstein metrics

Joseph Kwong

The University of Queensland

Smooth manifolds are generalisations of smooth curves and surfaces to higher dimensions. A Riemannian metric is a mathematical object defined ...
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Stochastic Optimal Control

Jonathan Mavroforas

University of Technology Sydney

Abstract In my report, stochastic optimal control and robust filtering were examined under the theory of rough paths. Methods were ...
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Incidence geometry is non-trivial, I promise!

Jolyon Joyce

The University of Western Australia

Abstract: Mathematics students often joke about the word ‘trivial’. The word in its serious usage means that a given object ...
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Maths is Creative

Jason Lu

The University of Western Australia

Abstract: Questions in maths can appear strict and one-dimensional. Here, I share my thoughts on the creativity and complexity involved ...
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An interest in mathematics

Nelly Tucker

Monash University

Abstract This blog describes what makes and has made mathematics interesting to me as a kid and still now as ...
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The Math-Data Science Dance: How I Found My Groove in Numbers

Saakshi Singh

Western Sydney University

Abstract: Join me on a journey of rediscovery as I share my personal story of falling in and out of ...
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Topology and Complexity of Braided Magnetic Fields of the Sun

Zachariah Jones

The University of Newcastle

During my participation in the AMSI Summer Research over the last 6 weeks, I have had the opportunity to delve ...
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How AI can play Pacman

Joel Woodfield

The University of Queensland

Abstract/Preview: Can AI play games like Pacman? Yes, they can. Reinforcement learning algorithms can get a computer to learn to ...
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Mathematics, Accounting and Dynamical Systems

James Kelly

The University of Melbourne

Abstract: Many people are not familiar with the theory of polytonality, nor can they read sheet music. Yet nearly ...
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Safeguarding Our Data in the Post-Quantum Era

Jason Liu

The University of Sydney

Abstract: Quantum computing poses a serious threat to the safety of our data and communications. Shor’s algorithm is a quantum ...
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Keeping Dogs Safe with Mathematics

Thomas Hanyang Zheng

The University of Sydney

Abstract Dogs are our best friends. We rely on them for some very important roles, like livestock herding and emergency ...
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Why People care about Constructivism

Isaac Bankier

University of Wollongong

Blog Abstract: In mathematics the obvious choice is not always the right one. This applies even to the very definition ...
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An Introduction to Spectral Theory

Enxi Lin

The University of New South Wales

In the field of functional analysis, Spectral Theory studies the spectrum of bounded linear operators, which is a generalisation of the ...
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Language and Learning Maths

Emily Palit

Monash University

Abstract: What kind of language do opt for when you’re helping someone with a maths problem? How does your brain ...
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I’ve had an interesting journey deciding what area of maths – pure, applied or statistics

Elizabeth Mabbutt

University of Wollongong

Abstract: I’ve had an interesting journey deciding what area of maths - pure, applied or statistics - I wanted to ...
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Cooking Up Success with Data Augmentation: Demystifying the Enhancement of Machine Learning Models

Dillon Batdorf

RMIT University

Abstract Data Augmentation is like a chef experimenting with a recipe to improve the dish. Used in machine learning, it ...
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WHAT YOU SEE AIN’T WHAT YOU GET – EXPLORING BRAIN PERCEPTION USING BAYES THEORY

Chih Yuan (Yuan) Chan

University of New England

When you are looking at something, what you are seeing is not what you are getting. Allow me to explain ...
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Forgetting the direction of directed graphs

Chun Hei Lee

The University of Adelaide

When people talk about graphs, there are two main kinds, namely directed graphs and undirected graphs. A graph can be ...
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Dots, lines, and Categories

Alex Marciano

The University of Adelaide

Abstract. Graphs are easily understood mathematical objects, comprised of dots and lines between them. Category theory is a way of ...
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The Universal Language

Sarah Kawaguchi

Western Sydney University

Growing up I have always loved puzzles and solving problems that required logic, yet I did not discover a passion ...
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Moving Through Word Embedding Space

Gabriel Schussler

Western Sydney University

For me, mathematics provides a gateway to understanding the world and changing it for the better. With massive breakthroughs we ...
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BILEVEL OPTIMISATION IS ALL AROUND US

Tran Khanh Hung Giang

University of Sydney

In the study that I was working on during six weeks of AMSI Vacation Research Scholarship 2022-23, I studied bilevel ...
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What is a Riemann Surface?

Tiernan Cartwright

University of Sydney

Riemann surfaces involve calculus, geometry, and complex numbers. This blog post goes through the main ideas related to these topics ...
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Self-similarity is a familiar geometric property. In the eyes of algebra, however, what is a self-similar group?

Amelie Skelton

University of Sydney

Self-similarity is a familiar idea to most—the idea that an object like a coastline or a branching tree can repeat ...
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The Role of Programming in Pure Mathematics

Marcus Chijoff

The University of Newcastle

When you think about pure maths, you’ll think about pages filled with definitions and theorems becoming increasingly abstract. What you ...
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Modelling the Biological and Chemical Clogging of Permeable Reactive Barriers

Lucy Dowdell

The University of Newcastle

Mathematics has always been my passion, specifically I always had an interest in mathematical modelling. So I was excited to ...
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Modelling the dynamic response of a rail track with rubber inclusion

Josiah Murray

The University of Newcastle

Mathematics is a dynasty. One that spans centuries and is intrinsically tied to our wider histories. But we often only ...
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Not a ‘Maths Person’

Anna Carpenter

The University of Newcastle

It’s a phrase I’m sure almost every Maths student has heard. From friends, relatives – I’m just not a maths ...
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Girls Can Do Maths – My Journey in Mathematics as a Girl

Yuqi Liu

The University of New South Wales

Anecdotally, when I struggled with a maths concept in primary school, I was told by my teacher “It’s okay because ...
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Randomization Techniques for Large-Scale Optimization

Xiaoyu Li

The University of New South Wales

The world of optimization is an exciting and dynamic field that touches many areas of our lives. From improving the ...
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The water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it up

Yixin Kang

Macquarie University

In fact, for a fluid, there are two different moving states. One is called laminar, which is smooth and stable, ...
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Gambling Against Cheaters

Joel Denning

Macquarie University

Imagine a gambler playing a game repeatedly (albeit a finite number of times, say ), accumulating or losing some winnings ...
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Optimal Control in Stochastic Hydrodynamic Models

Michael Nefiodovas

University of Western Australia

Inverse optimisation is an interesting and important field that seeks to solve the inverse problem of optimisation by determining the ...
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You Can’t Have Imposter Syndrome If You’re Actually an Imposter

Joshua Troy

University of Western Australia

I share some thoughts on my experience with the all too common mathematical imposter syndrome. It must be emphasised that ...
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The immense power of mathematics

Brenton Horne

University of Southern Queensland

As someone that has had an interest in the world around me since early childhood, developing an interest in mathematics ...
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Supersymmetric quantum mechanics and Witten index

Yixiang Wang

The University of Melbourne

We explore a basic topological characteristic associated with supersymmetric theories, called the Witten index. The project starts with recalling basic ...
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Predicting Stock Price Volatility — Try FDA!

Runqiu Fei

The University of Melbourne

In support of today’s frequent and continuous decision makings in the financial stock market, we employ Functional Data Analysis (FDA) ...
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NanoSplicer

Patrick Grave

The University of Melbourne

NanoSplicer (Yupei You et al, 2022) is a program that accurately identifies splice junctions using Oxford Nanopore Sequencing data. It ...
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The Power of Pólya Urn Model: Deciphering Complex Systems with Simple Math

Jiani Xie

The University of Melbourne

Have you ever been curious about how mathematicians decipher complicated systems such as the evolution of species or the spread ...
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Riemann Integration and Lebesgue Integration

Yawei Chen

University of Adelaide

The Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese festival. When I was a child, for the Lantern Festival, my parents would ...
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What is Meant by the Category of Dessins d’Enfants?

Thomas Dee

University of Adelaide

When I tell you my project is concerned with ‘the category of dessins d’enfants’, it is likely that three questions ...
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Why We Study Category Theory!

Paawan Jethva

University of Adelaide

Category theory is a general theory of mathematical “structures.” (We will explain what we mean by “structure” in the article.) ...
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Maths, Art, and Staring Blankly at Numbers on a Whiteboard

Macey Lawson

University of Adelaide

I live and breathe for all types of art, so why exactly did I choose to study mathematics instead? I ...
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The Security of Cryptography

Lachlan Schilling

University of Adelaide

Living in a world in which technology is becoming more and more integrated with our daily lives, it is necessary ...
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Modelling Stress Fibres

Timothy Ryall

University of Queensland

When you hear stress fibres most people tend to think of muscles, these two are similar in certain ways, they ...
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An Introduction to Supergeometry

Benjamin Kruger

University of Queensland

An extension to the standard model of particle physics is the theory of supersymmetry. In the current standard model of ...
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Dynamical System Approach to Modelling of Electromagnetic Stirring

Rakindu Wickramarathne

Swinburne University of Technology

Electrodynamics and fluid mechanics might not necessarily sound like two fields with much overlap at first glance, but the range ...
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My motivation for mathematics

Mikaela Westlake

Queensland University of Technology

Abstract: Finding ones reason to continue through research in mathematics is a difficult and personal question to ask. My purpose ...
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Online shopping, Among Us and the Secrets of the Universe

Dan Tran

Queensland University of Technology

Our lives are shaped by all our past, current and future choices, but how do we make them? How can ...
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I Didn’t Like Maths

Oscar Eden

Monash University

I didn’t like maths, but just spent six weeks of my uni holidays doing mathematical research (specifically knot theory). A ...
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Life is a Random Walk on a Discrete Lattice

Liam Wood-Baker

Monash University

When I was accepted into AMSI’s summer research scholarship program, I confess I didn’t really know what I had signed ...
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Why I Study Maths, and Why You Should Too?

Jack Mills

Monash University

Since choosing to major in maths at university and even more now that I am starting my honours year in ...
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What is the Potts model?

Huateng Zhu

Monash University

In 1952, Robin Potts introduced the Potts model in his PhD thesis as a generalisation of the Ising model, which ...
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Why Math??

Soprom Meng

La Trobe University

There are a lot of people who hate math and does not to get involved in this subject. However, if ...
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My Journey To Mathematics

Lauren White

La Trobe University

My journey to studying mathematics was not a straightforward path out of school. Whilst maths has always been a part ...
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The Journey of researching ice sheet

Yihong Mei

James Cook University

In this blog post, I share my experience as a data science student researching ice sheets. From finding the project ...
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Minimizing Costs in Glass Cutting with Variable-Sized 2D Bin Packing: An Approximate Decomposition Based Approach

Xiaojuan He

Deakin University

Imagine you are an employee in the glass industry tasked with producing rectangular pieces from large glass sheets. You have ...
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Integrating Genomic and Clinical Data to Improve Ovarian Cancer Patient Outcomes

Jecinta Jaarola

Curtin University

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal form of gynaecological malignancy, with almost 314,000 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 20201 ...
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