Sean Skinner
University of Sydney
Hi my name is Sean Skinner and I am a 2nd year PhD student at the University of Sydney. When I’m not trying to prove that primes numbers contain interesting patterns you can typically find me somewhere in the middle of the bush
1. 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?
I am interested in Ramsey theoretical problems of an ergodic/number theoretic flavour. What this actually means is that I am interested in proving that certain objects must contains patterns purely because of how large they are, where the terms object, patterns and large can refer to a number of different precise things, depending on the problem at hand. A classic question in this type of mathematics is the following: what is the size of the largest subset of first (say) 100 natural numbers such that no two of it’s elements differ by a square number?
2. How did you get into the mathematical sciences? Was there someone or something that inspired you to this field?
I didn’t always want to study mathematics, but every time I had to make a decision as to what to study next, be it my subjects in high school, my degree in undergrad, whether or not to do honours and what to do it in etc, I just couldn’t choose to do anything else. The lure of wanting to understand this theorem, that subject or this object that I had heard about at earlier points in my study was a far too delicious looking a carrot on a stick for me to quit chasing.
3. You received a Travel Grant to attend AMSI Summer School 2023. How important was this in terms of your ability to attend, fully participate in the program and meet others studying in similar fields?
The travel grant to me was essential, as otherwise I could not have financially justified taking time of my usual summer school teaching load. I could still have tried to take the courses online; however, this always requires far more willpower, and completely cuts out the social aspect of the summer school which leads me on to the next point…
4. What was the most valuable part of the program for you?
I made so many friends from all over Australia (and from overseas) studying all sorts of different mathematics. I do not think it is sustainable to pursue a passion/career as niche as mathematics without strong social connections within the field, and I am very grateful to have made many of these at the summer school.
5. Where do you want the mathematical sciences to take you? Where do you see yourself in five, ten years time?
Who knows. If things go well I will pursue a career in academia, but success in that goal requires a non-negligible amount of luck. In any case I am sure that my mathematical education will assist my professional life in any direction I decide to pursue, both because of what it signals to potential employers and because of the problem solving skills I have sharpened along the way.