AMSI grant recipient profile: Daniel Bruwel

 

Give me a quick overview of the type of mathematics you are studying, and/or the aims of your research and its potential applications/outcomes (how you would explain your work and studies to friends who don’t study maths?)

I study the geometry of why certain types of computational problems are hard, particularly about how knots can get in the way of fast algorithms existing.

How did you get into the mathematical sciences? Was there someone or something that inspired you to this field?

My interests started off in physics and the more physics I did the more I realised that it was the maths that I was interested in. Somewhere during my studies, I discovered topology and found it hugely interesting.

Winter School is designed to give students a deeper understanding of their area of research and expose them to others working in different fields/industries. Tell me about your Winter School experience. What was the most valuable part of the program for you?

The best part about winter school was going to UQ and meeting up with a bunch of other math students that I had first met in the summer school and solidifying my connection with them, as well as meeting some new people and starting to get to know them too.

What was your main take away/s from AMSI Winter School? Something you learnt? A connection you made? Do you have new ideas for your work/research or see it in a new light?

I really enjoyed learning about Łojasiewicz–Simon Estimates. I probably won’t use them directly in my research, but they gave me a much stronger understanding of gradient flows and why certain ones behave the way they do.

What surprised you most about Winter School?

I was surprised by how pretty the UQ campus was, and how solid their resourcing was (i.e. honours rooms, classrooms, etc.).

What is the importance of in-person communication at an event like Winter School?

In person communication is really helpful for building more personal relationships with peers e.g. going to drinks, getting coffee, etc.

You received a grant to attend AMSI Winter School. How important was this in terms of your ability to attend, fully participate in the program and meet others studying in similar fields?

The grant was really helpful for accommodation. It was really good to be able to get good accommodation near the campus and with lots of other people. At previous similar events I got my own accommodation which apart from being costly, I found did act as a bit of a friction point for doing spontaneous social activities because I had to worry about getting back to it.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering applying for Winter School? How would you describe the conference to them?

I have no major advice; I found the school was setup that you could get a lot out of it without needing to have any advice in advance. I would describe the conference as a good place for ECRs and students where everyone else is in a similar position to you.

Tell us about a moment that changed a preconceived idea about your field?

I discovered through conversations with people about model theory at the event some weird implications of undecidability and the impacts it has on how badly behaved my field can really become (I’d initially known things could get weird but I didn’t explicitly know how easily things could break)

Where do you want the mathematical sciences to take you? Where do you see yourself in five, ten years time?

Ideally, I’d like to keep learning math and keep working on problems and enjoying it.

Any other feedback/comments you would like to provide on the travel grant or AMSI Winter School?

Nope