Trill White
Deakin Univeristy
Trill is an Honours student studying at Deakin University. She is driven by a profound interest in applied mathematics, specifically exploring its intersection with optimisation and cryptography. Her project earlier this year at the Summer Research Project looked at possible optimisations within BKZ-(LLL) algorithm, which is a lattice reduction algorithm used to solve systems like the LWE problem. She is looking forward to presenting her work and learning from the other students.
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 lattice basis reduction, which focuses on finding more efficient ways to uncover smaller, more geometrically regular basis vectors that still generate the same mathematical space. This is useful for cryptanalysis, which is one way that modern day cryptography schemes can be evaluated. By refining these foundational reduction techniques, we hope to make lattice algorithms faster and more practical for real-world applications.
How did you get into the mathematical sciences? Was there someone or something that inspired you to this field?
I was lucky enough to be inspired by my close family, and particularly my dad who is a mathematician. Having great teachers within the School of IT, also, really helped me.
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?
I was inspired by the connections I made with others as well as the
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?
My main take away was how connected we all are. My biggest takeaway was realising just how connected our community really is. In a program like Honours, research can feel incredibly isolated, like you are working on a cool problem entirely on your own. Being surrounded by peers in the same boat was amazing. It helped me broaden my knowledge of other mathematical areas while giving me a supportive space to share my own research.
What surprised you most about Winter School?
What surprised me most was how much learning happened outside the formal sessions simply by living alongside other students. In a residential setting, you’re constantly bouncing ideas off people you might never have met otherwise. Unwinding together in the evenings gave us space to trade research perspectives, talk through academic challenges, and discover surprising overlaps between completely different fields of math.
What is the importance of in-person communication at an event like Winter School?
Having every student present and defend their work in person was incredible. Learning together in a classroom is one thing, but presenting our own work was also fantastic. This was one of the most valuable parts of the conference, as communicating complex maths takes practice, and this environment was the perfect place to hone those presentation skills.
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?
It essentially made sure that it happened for me. This sort of support would have been really hard to access at my university, so being able to rely on it was incredible. I will always be very grateful for the support provided by AMSI.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering applying for Winter School? How would you describe the conference to them?
Apply, even if you think the content might be over your head! The program is intentionally designed to benefit you long after the two weeks end. The material is dense, but all the resources are well-organised so you can revisit concepts months down the track as your research evolves.
The density and knowledge means that even months later, you will be able to revisit concepts and ideas that were posed in the fortnight. Its a really excellent source. Beyond the intense learning, it is just a fantastic social experience. I really enjoyed meeting people, connecting over coffees and problems, and getting to know the sorts of things we will all be working on in the future!
My biggest advice is to apply and take lots of notes 🙂
Tell us about a moment that changed a preconceived idea about your field?
Something I had had as a preconception was the fact that surely, if I am attending a conference, I should already be somewhat of an expert to gain value out of it and contribute. This definitely changed my preconceptions about this, as one of only three honours students attending, and the only one from Victoria, it was still great to see that I could interact, ask questions and contribute.
Where do you want the mathematical sciences to take you? Where do you see yourself in five, ten years time?
I think in five years time I will have finished my Honours and PhD. I hope to travel to Europe to study further, but at this stage, I am more focused on learning the skills and concepts across my field.
Any other feedback/comments you would like to provide on the travel grant or AMSI Winter School?
Just a massive thank you to all of the event organisers. I recommend it to all students in AMSI Winter School. It was an amazing event, and I learned a lot from talking to others, engaging with those around me, and joining in the after class workshops.
Those workshops were really great because it was able to allow my to reinforce the learning from the days courses. Running the courses asynchronously allowed us to really go through different yet related concepts at the same time, which was incredibly useful also.