Monash University’s Senior Lecturer in the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics, Dr Anastasios Panagiotelis, will head the upcoming seminar at the Greek Centre with a presentation on two prominent 20th century mathematicians, who also happen to be of Greek decent.
Constantin Carathéodory is the first one on the agenda. Born in Germany, where he spent most of his academic career, by the early 1920s he went on to become the Founding Dean of the short-lived Ionian University of Smyrna.
Attendees will then have the chance to hear about Chicago-born Nicholas Metropolis. Having worked on the Manhattan Project, he was instrumental in developing some of the world’s first digital computers.
Aside from celebrating their lives and achievements, Dr Panagiotelis will also highlight how these two diaspora Greeks connected to their roots through mathematics and science, which have an enduring and vital presence in Greek history and culture.
While the seminar is a chance to learn more about these significant figures, it is also a treat to hear from Dr Panagiotelis, who has experience using the Metropolis algorithm first-hand in his own research project.
Having undertaken his undergraduate and doctoral studies at the University of Sydney, after completing his PhD he was awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship. This then led the academic to carry out his post-doctoral research at the Technical University of Munich’s Faculty of Mathematics, which involves the development and application of statistical and mathematical models to problems in business and economics.
The open seminar will take place on Thursday 4 August at the Greek Centre, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, VIC at 7 pm. Attendance is free. For further information, email info@greekcommunity.com.au or call (03) 9662 2722.