The Mathematics of Symmetry

Join us for this special public lecture by Professor George Willis, inaugural Cheryl Praeger Distinguished Visiting Fellow

Wednesday, 23 July 2025

• Reception from 5pm in 223.G17 (Cheryl Praeger Lecture Room);

• Public Lecture at 6pm in 223.G40 (Weatherburn Lecture Theatre)

• Register by: 20 July 2025 | Contact:schoolops-pmc@uwa.edu.au; 6488 3477

Intuitive ideas of symmetry inspired by patterns and shapes seen in nature and art have been built upon to create a mathematical understanding of symmetry. This understanding extends symmetry well beyond the visual patterns it originates from to domains such as the structure of crystals, descriptions of physical and chemical systems and more besides. In the lecture, Professor Willis will explain how mathematicians think about symmetry and how that enables us to see and use symmetry in these domains. I will also discuss how the development of these ideas from basic ingredients illustrates the creativity of mathematics.

George Willis has been motivated throughout his career by the challenges of solving mathematical problems and by an appreciation of the role of mathematics in turning often unreliable intuitions into reliable and usable tools. He first came to appreciate that role when an undergraduate student at the University of Adelaide in 1973-76 and a postgraduate student at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1977-81. His appreciation deepened as he held research and teaching positions at several universities before settling at the University of Newcastle NSW in 1992. During this time he has had the satisfaction of solving a few of the many problems he has worked on and of contributing to a new understanding of the symmetry of networks structures. His contributions have been recognised by election to the Australian Academy of Science in 2014 and by awards from the Australian Mathematical Society, the Australian Academy of Science and the von Humboldt Foundation of Germany.