Joel Wills
Monash University
I am a student at Monash University currently doing my honours in mathematics as a part of the Bachelor of Advanced Science – Research (Honours) degree. I’m interested a wide variety of mathematics, but for my honours thesis I have been looking at some combinatoric and computational questions about certain statistical mechanics models. I grew up on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria and have always enjoyed mathematics but being exposed to the broader mathematical world throughout my university studies, I have definitely grown to enjoy mathematics even more. When I’m not studying, I enjoy spending my time in nature, whether it be surfing, running or hiking, so it’s always rewarding to seemathematics used in exciting and innovative ways for environmental causes.
1. Can you give me a quick rundown about the type of mathematics you are studying and its potential impacts for the broader community (think how you would explain your work and studies to others who don’t study maths)?
As mentioned, at the moment I am looking at partition functions in statistical mechanics. These objects are of great interest to physicists and contain a lot of important information, but they’re in general too difficult exactly compute in practice. My study is therefore on efficient randomised approximation algorithms to compute these functions. Statistical mechanics more broadly is very useful and therefore has and continues to be studied extensively.
2. How did you get into mathematics/statistics/data science? Was there’s someone or something that inspired you to this field?
I always enjoyed mathematics growing up and having older siblings who did so too definitely encouraged me to keep doing it. I had some really supportive school teachers which helps, but I never felt like a really made a conscious decision to study mathematics, I sort of just found my way here, and so far it’s gone well.
3. How important was this in terms of your ability to attend, fully participate in the program and meet others studying in similar fields? Do you think it was an advantage to attend the program in-person?
Receiving the travel grant was a massive help. As a fulltime student in my final year, any financial aid is always appreciated, and in this case it alleviated some of the financial stress that a lot of students deal with and allowed me to focus more on my studies. It was definitely a benefit to attend the program in person and meet a lot of great people and extend my networks both personally and professionally.
4. What was the most valuable part of the program for you?
The possibility to attend the program itself was really valuable, allowing me to credit a subject towards my honours degree and spread the load out. Other than this, I would say that making new friends and hearing from other people at different stages of their mathematical journey and what advice they could give.
5. In the long-term, what do you think are the benefits of having attended Summer School?
I was already interested in doing a PhD in mathematics before attending the event and I’m now more interested than ever in pursuing a PhD after my honours. So I think the experience as a whole gave me more clarity and encouragement for my endeavours.
6.Summer School included a special Careers Day program which aims to help give students an idea of the kinds of career paths available to maths graduates in industry and private sector research areas. Do you feel better equipped to explore career options in the mathematical sciences after attending AMSI Summer School?
Definitely. I think that it’s often not clear what pathways are available for mathematics students and with the rapid growth in technical fields, the need for mathematically literate individuals is only increasing. The Careers Day educated me further on my future pathways and leaves me feeling more confident that no matter where I take mathematics I will have plenty of options.
7. What advice would you give to someone who is considering applying for Summer School in 2025? Should they apply and why?
Go for it, and if you can, attend in person. I think no matter what you will leave having learnt a lot, and not just all the interesting mathematics you will learn about.
8. What are your current career ambitions in the mathematical sciences sector?
I want to pursue my PhD with the interest of going into academic research. However I’m also just interested in doing research more broadly, so I will look to do my PhD and then evaluate both academic and industry options for research.
9. How did connecting with the community at AMSI Summer School support your experience?
Connecting with the AMSI Summer School community made the experience for me. Regardless of one does, when it’s with a supportive community it’s made so much better, and I certainly found this at the AMSI Summer School.
10. Any other feedback/comments you would like to provide on the AMSI Travel Grant or AMSI Summer School 2024?
I would just encourage anyone who’s thinking about attending to go for it, especially in person if possible. It’s a great experience you won’t regret.