Ibec has is once again a proud sponsor of Hamilton Day. Hamilton Day commemorates a ground-breaking discovery by one of Ireland’s most famous scientist.
On 16 October 1843, William Rowan Hamilton discovered quaternion algebra, while walking along the Royal Canal from Dunsink Observatory to the Royal Irish Academy (RIA). This was one of those very rare Eureka moments in the history of science. So excited was he by his discovery that he scratched his equation on the wall of Broome Bridge, Cabra.
To mark this important day, each year mathematics departments in Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Dublin City University, University College Cork, NUI Galway, Maynooth University, University of Limerick, TU Dublin and Queen's University Belfast are invited to nominate their "best" student in their penultimate year of undergraduate mathematical studies for the Hamilton Prize.
The day includes an award ceremony to recognise the most gifted third level mathematics students in Ireland, a masterclass for early-career researchers and concludes with the Hamilton lecture which is given by an internationally renowned speaker.
Hamilton Lecture 2024 / The geometry and algebra of the Mandelbrot set
The Mandelbrot set, denoted by M, has been studied for 45 years and continues to baffle mathematicians. In this lecture, Professor Laura DeMarco will explore the many mathematical ideas that have been put to work on the Mandelbrot set, from analysis and potential theory to algebra and number theory. The talk will explore how our in-depth knowledge of M has provided insight into recent (and seemingly unrelated) research in geometry, dynamics, and arithmetic.
When: 16 October, 2024, 18:00 – 20:30
Where: Royal Irish Academy, 19 Dawson Street, Dublin 2
Speaker / About Professor Laura Demarco
Laura DeMarco is a professor of mathematics at Harvard University, whose research concerns dynamical systems and complex analysis. Laura DeMarco received her PhD from Harvard University in 2002 under the supervision of Curtis T. McMullen. She held an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship and was an L. E. Dickson Instructor at the University of Chicago from September 2002 to August 2005. She was also an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, and then she moved to the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she was tenured and promoted to professor. She moved to Northwestern University in 2014 and was promoted to Henry S. Noyes Professor of Mathematics in 2019, before she moved to Harvard University in 2020.
In 2013, DeMarco became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society in the inaugural class of fellows. In 2017, she received the AMS Ruth Lyttle Satter Prize in Mathematics in Mathematics for her contributions to complex dynamics, potential theory, and the emerging field of arithmetic dynamics. In 2020, DeMarco was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Ibec joins the Royal Irish Academy celebrating Hamilton Day
Ibec once again joins forces with the Royal Irish Academy for Hamilton Day for its fifth year of partnership, recognising the importance of STEM education for business.
Who was Hamilton?
William Rowan Hamilton was born in 1805 in Dublin and is universally recognised as the greatest mathematician, and arguably the greatest scientist, that Ireland has produced to date.
Ireland’s scientific and mathematic tradition underpins our economy. Over the last 50 years, it has transformed to become dynamic, innovative, high-tech and has digital at its core.
As this transformation continues at pace, so too will the need for people to have advanced digital and numerical literacy skills.
Ibec is delighted to partner with the Royal Irish Academy on Hamilton Day to promote the lasting legacy of an Irish man who made a seminal contribution to the world around us today.
Eureka moment at Broome Bridge
On 16 October 1843, William Hamilton and his wife Helen were walking along the banks of the Royal Canal from Dunsink Observatory to the Royal Irish Academy where he was President.
At Broome Bridge Hamilton had that very rare occurrence in science, a Eureka moment. He suddenly hit on the solution to a problem he had been working on for a long time and in his excitement, he took out his penknife and scratched his formula for Quaternion algebra onto the bridge: i² = j² = k² = ijk = −1
Quaternions can be found in simple everyday objects, from the rotation of your mobile phone’s screen to Quantum mechanics, computer gaming animation, CGI in movies and were instrumental in putting the first man on the moon.
Hamilton's legacy
Ireland’s scientific and mathematic tradition underpins our economy. Over the last 50 years, it has transformed to become dynamic, innovative, high-tech and has digital at its core.
As this transformation continues at pace, so too will the need for people to have advanced digital and numerical literacy skills. Ibec is committed to promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education to encourage people to consider STEM related careers but also because we recognise STEM’s key role in safeguarding Ireland’s economic future.
