For anyone arriving on Wednesday, there will be some pre-TMiP social activities organised on campus. Details TBC.

Welcome to the event, information about the programme and a chance to meet the other attendees (with a virtual icebreaker for remote attendees).

The keynotes at TMiP 2025 are sponsored by the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences.

STEM is a term that brings together similar fields under a single umbrella but each of the fields have their own nuance. From a communication perspective, it's important to recognise these differences in order to tailor communications more effectively. In this talk, Jon Chase invites the audience to reflect on how ideas within science communication might need adapting for maths communication and how these ideas can or have been put into practice.

Jon Chase is a science communication practitioner, author and science rapper, based in the UK but affiliated with Leiden University, Netherlands, where he developed science communication training materials for the EU funded GlobalSCAPE project.

He has spent more than fifteen years doing science shows at venues across the British Isles to all audiences and has co-authored a number of popular science books, including The Science of Star Wars and The Science of Jurassic World. He has also presented and talked about science and technology on numerous television and YouTube channels. In 2017 he was awarded the UK’s Josh Award in Science Communication but he’s perhaps best known for his science raps, which he has produced for organisations including NASA and the BBC.

Tea and coffee (with dairy, oat and soya milk and herbal teas), served with a selection of snacks including gluten free and vegan alternatives, will be served in the Zeeman atrium, and there will be further displays/activities in the A0.05 UG Work Room on the ground floor. Remote attendees can chat with in-person attendees in Zoom.

A chance to find out about maths outreach and engagement projects and share your work.

The deadline for proposing lightning talks is 11 July. You can propose a lightning talk using this form: Lightning Talks Form

This session will include a presentation from the recipient of the 2025 MEGA Grant, introduced by Stand-up Mathematician Matt Parker.

Lunch will be served in the Zeeman atrium. There will be a vegetarian buffet, with tea, coffee and juice.

During this session, our professional photographer will be available in the the foyer to take headshots of attendees. Join the queue if you want a headshot photo taking, free for your own use.

Four discussion topics split into two parallel rooms. Sessions will be led by a chair, who will introduce the topic and then open to the room, coordinating questions and responses from in-person and remote attendees. These sessions will be split between Zeeman MS.01 and MS.02.

Parallel Sessions - 14.00-14.45

• MS.01: Decolonising Mathematics (chair: Subhadra Das)

  Decolonising the curriculum is an important issue, and this discussion will explore ways we can update our maths communication practice with this in mind.

• MS.02: Stage Personas (chair: Kat Phillips)

  This discussion-based session will explore what we mean by a "stage persona" and how it shapes the way we communicate mathematics. We’ll look at different types of personas people use, how they can be helpful or limiting, and the possible consequences of adopting one. Through an open discussion, participants will reflect on their own styles and share ways to develop an effective and authentic stage presence.

Parallel Sessions - 14.45-15.30

• MS.01: Gender Balance (chairs: Sarah Cosgriff & Alison Kiddle)

  This discussion group will discuss issues surrounding gender balance and supporting minoritised genders within the maths communication community and within mathematics in general.

• MS.02: Talking Maths Aloud (chair: Ian Stewart)

  One format in which maths is often communicated is via the spoken word - on the radio, and increasingly in the form of podcasts. In this session we'll discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by this format, and consider how we can improve how we communicate in spoken form.

Discussion chairs

Subhadra Das is a writer, historian, broadcaster and comedian who looks at the relationship between science and society. She specialises in the history and philosophy of science, particularly the history of scientific racism and eugenics. For nine years she was Curator of the Science Collections at University College London. She has written and presented podcasts and stand-up comedy shows, curated museum exhibitions, and has appeared on radio and TV. Her first book Uncivilised: Ten Lies That Made The West is now available in paperback.

Sarah Cosgriff is a freelance science communicator and specialist in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). They are particularly passionate about LGBTQ+ inclusion and work as an project worker for Schools OUT, a LGBT+ education charity who founded LGBT+ History Month in the UK. Sarah also created and coordinates STEM for Queer Youth, a STEM engagement project based at a LGBTQ+ youth group, which she runs with Pride in STEM. Sarah previously worked at the Institute of Physics on their girls in physics programmes and at the Association for Science Education on their equity in science programmes.

Kat Phillips is a self-proclaimed 'wearer of many hats' due to her numerous roles and responsibilities (and also her many actual hats). Namely, she is an Innovation Research Associate in CAMaCS at the University of Warwick, and Maths communicator under the name KatDoesMaths. You can find Kat sharing her passion for maths mostly via livestreaming on twitch, but she also does lots of work to de-mystify academia and the PhD process with her initiative PhDYourWay.

Alison Kiddle is a mathematician and educator from the East of England. As well as travelling round the UK and abroad to give talks and workshops for students and teachers, Alison is a writer, puzzlesmith, teacher and crafter. Their superpower is being able to spot maths almost everywhere.

Ian Stewart is an Emeritus Professor in the Mathematics Department at Warwick University, where he divides his time equally between research into nonlinear dynamics and furthering public awareness of mathematics. He has held visiting positions in Germany, New Zealand, and the USA, and has five honorary doctorates, as well as being the recipient of the Royal Society’s Faraday Medal (1995), the IMA Gold Medal (2000), the AAAS Public Understanding of Science and Technology Award (2001), the LMS/IMA Zeeman Medal (2008), and the Lewis Thomas Prize (2015, joint with Steven Strogatz). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001.

Ian is best known for his popular science writing - he has published more than 120 books, and has contributed to a wide range of newspapers and magazines in the UK, Europe, and the USA, including New Scientist and Scientific American. He delivered the 1997 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures on BBC television, and has made nearly 450 radio broadcasts and 80 television appearances.

Tea and coffee (with dairy, oat and soya milk and herbal teas), served with a selection of snacks including gluten free and vegan alternatives, will be served in the Zeeman atrium, and there will be further displays/activities in the A0.05 UG Work Room on the ground floor. Remote attendees can chat with in-person attendees in Zoom.

There are a huge range of careers in or involving maths communication. This panel discussion will give you an insight into some of these careers and how to go about following them.

Panellists

Zoe Griffiths is a maths communicator who delivers maths enrichment talks and workshops. She primarily visits schools, but also gives talks at large scale events such as Maths Inspiration and at teacher conferences, and occasionally at science festivals and comedy/variety nights. Zoe is self employed (operating as a sole trader), and operates under the trade-name Think Maths. Think Maths was founded originally by Matt Parker and Zoe was employed by Matt to work on Think Maths from 2017-2023, before taking on Think Maths as her own in 2023. Zoe's foray into the freelance world over the last couple of years has given her plenty of insights to share in this session.

Sarah Cosgriff is a freelance science communicator and specialist in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). They are particularly passionate about LGBTQ+ inclusion and work as an project worker for Schools OUT, a LGBT+ education charity who founded LGBT+ History Month in the UK. Sarah also created and coordinates STEM for Queer Youth, a STEM engagement project based at a LGBTQ+ youth group, which she runs with Pride in STEM. Sarah previously worked at the Institute of Physics on their girls in physics programmes and at the Association for Science Education on their equity in science programmes.

Dominique Sleet works as Public Engagement Manager at the Royal Academy of Engineering where she manages the Academy’s public engagement activity as well as managing the Ingenious public engagement grants scheme. Dominique began her career working in the interactive galleries of the Science Museum before moving onto roles at the Royal Institution and Imperial College London, always working to promote STEM subjects with different audiences.

Maths education at school is constantly changing, and it can be hard to keep up-to-date with these changes if you're no longer at school. This session will give you a quick update of recent changes to help you avoid embarassing yourself by mentioning modules that no longer exist, topics that have moved between GCSE and A-level, and exam grades that have been rebranded.

Ben Sparks is a mathematician, musician, and public speaker. He gives maths talks and workshops around the world, to students, teachers, and the general public. He's part freelance and part-time with the University of Bath where he teaches on the Communicating Maths course. His performances include regular work with the Numberphile YouTube channel (run by Brady Haran – recently awarded the Zeeman Medal for Promotion of Maths) where his videos have been watched over 16 million times. He also runs his own YouTube channel SparksMaths.

Final information for the day and information about the evening's social activities.

Buffet dinner at Varsity on campus, followed by post-dinner social with all in-person attendees.

A chance to find out about maths outreach and engagement projects and share your work.

The deadline for proposing lightning talks is 11 July. You can propose a lightning talk using this form: Lightning Talks Form

In this session, Chris will explore techniques, drawn from his work with stand-up comedians, for sharing maths ideas with humour and impact, on storytelling, and on engaging audiences (and tips for dealing with difficult ones).

Chris Head is a live comedy director, writing and performance coach, and author. As a coach and director, he helps speakers shape, structure and deliver full-length talks, including working with Matt Parker on his ‘Humble Pi’ show, that tied in with the best-selling book of the same name. He has also coached Hannah Fry, Ben Sparks and Rob Eastaway (and many of this speakers at the Maths Inspiration shows for schools.) Plus he coached and directed Caroline Goyder for her TEDx talk (10 million views and counting).

Tea and coffee (with dairy, oat and soya milk and herbal teas), served with a selection of snacks including gluten free and vegan alternatives, will be served in the Zeeman atrium, and there will be further displays/activities in the A0.05 UG Work Room on the ground floor. Remote attendees can chat with in-person attendees in Zoom.

There are lots of mathematical and maths-adjacent topics that can be a little bit difficult to discuss: there's maths involved in military applications, you can analyse natural disasters and conspiracy-theory-prone issues such as vaccination during a pandemic - and some people who came up with important ideas in statistics also had some unhelpful views about eugenics. This panel will discuss how to discuss tricky topics like this in an appropriate and sensitive manner, and how to avoid inadvertently putting your foot in it.

Chaired by Katie Steckles.

Panellists

Subhadra Das is a writer, historian, broadcaster and comedian who looks at the relationship between science and society. She specialises in the history and philosophy of science, particularly the history of scientific racism and eugenics. For nine years she was Curator of the Science Collections at University College London. She has written and presented podcasts and stand-up comedy shows, curated museum exhibitions, and has appeared on radio and TV. Her first book Uncivilised: Ten Lies That Made The West is now available in paperback.

Hana Ayoob is a freelance science communicator and illustrator. She’s passionate about bringing people together to explore and challenge the world around them. Hana speaks at a range of events, runs creative workshops, produces events and provides public engagement and science communication training and consultancy.

Ayliean MacDonald is a mathematical artist and maths communicator. She creates maths videos for YouTube and TikTok, has featured on the influential Numberphile channel, and hosts weekly live streams for Simon Singh's Parallel programme. In her spare time she likes to do maths, and when she needs a break from maths she unwinds by... actually she never needs a break from maths. Maths all day, every day.

Lunch will be served in the Zeeman atrium. There will be a vegetarian buffet, with tea, coffee and juice.

During this session, our professional photographer will be available in the the foyer to take headshots of attendees. Join the queue if you want a headshot photo taking, free for your own use.

Split session with skills workshops on four topics. Participants will be able to sign up for a session on the day, but numbers in each will be limited so we cannot guarantee your first preference.

• MS.03: Animation, with Will Marler and Ben Sparks.

  Animator Will Marler and maths communicator Ben Sparks demonstrate how to bring maths to life through animation and simulation. By diving deep into programs like PowerPoint and Geogebra, find out how to turn data and formulae into stories that will educate, captivate, and enthral your audience.

• MS.04: Data Visualisation, with Jen Christiansen (remote speaker).

  Scientific illustrator and graphical artist Jen Christiansen's workshop will look at ways to visualise data.

• MS.05: Mathematical Writing, with author Kit Yates.

  Whether you're a scientist, student, communicator, or simply someone passionate about sharing science, this workshop will help you turn complex ideas into compelling stories. Led by Professor Kit Yates — award-winning author, science writer, and contributor to outlets like The Guardian, IFL Science and Scientific American — this session explores the craft of science writing across short- and long-form formats.

  You’ll learn how to find the narrative in scientific ideas, write with clarity and style, and tailor your work for different audiences—from curious readers to national media. Through examples, discussion, and practical exercises, we’ll cover how to structure articles, refine your voice, and pitch stories to editors. Whether you're hoping to write op-eds, features, blog posts or even books, this session offers tools and insights to help your writing stand out.

  No prior experience required — just curiosity, creativity, and a desire to communicate science in ways that truly connect.

• IAS Seminar room: Developing Engagement Activities, with Hana Ayoob.

  Join science communicator Hana Ayoob to develop an engagement activity and make a physical prototype of it - in 90 minutes! We'll work through a series of prompts, and develop a longlist of ideas before choosing one idea to work on further.

• PC Room A0.02: Geometry, code and embroidery, with Margaret Low and Phil Jemmett.

  Design and code geometric patterns, which will then be recreated in fabric and thread by an automated sewing machine. In this session, Margaret Low and Phil Jemmett will explore the links between mathematics, programming and textiles using geometry and measurement. Attendees will develop programs that create patterns, and those patterns can then be stitched using a digital embroidery machine.

  The session is a fun and creative introduction to programming, using TurtleStitch. It's also an exploration of the role of software in industry, business and arts. TurtleStitch is free, easy to use, and generates patterns that can be stitched by embroidery machines, enabling the creation of physical things from code. At the end of the session, Margaret and Phil will open a discussion around how we can make interdisciplinary activities engaging and inspiring.

Workshop Leaders

Will Marler is an animator working in STEM and has animated for the likes of Tom Scott, Matt Parker, Dr Hannah Fry, and Professor Alice Roberts. They also produce Learn with Will, their own series of educational, animated videos teaching science, English, and maths.

Ben Sparks is a mathematician, musician, and public speaker. He gives maths talks and workshops around the world, to students, teachers, and the general public. He's part freelance and part-time with the University of Bath where he teaches on the Communicating Maths course. His performances include regular work with the Numberphile YouTube channel (run by Brady Haran – recently awarded the Zeeman Medal for Promotion of Maths) where his videos have been watched over 16 million times. He also runs his own YouTube channel SparksMaths.

Jen Christiansen is a senior graphics editor at Scientific American and the author of Building Science Graphics.

Kit Yates is an author, broadcaster and academic specialising in the role of mathematics in everyday life. Kit completed his PhD in mathematics at the University of Oxford and is now Professor of Mathematical Biology and Public Engagement at the University of Bath. He is the author of two books, The Maths of Life and Death (a Sunday Times Science Book of the Year) and How to Expect the Unexpected. He is a prominent commentator on the role of mathematics/science in society writing regularly for the Guardian and the Independent and a range of other media outlets. He regularly appears on radio shows like the BBC’s More or Less, and Inside Science as well as on TV news shows and documentaries. Kit is one of the core scientists that forms Independent SAGE, providing independent scientific advice to policy makers and the public on covid throughout the pandemic.

Margaret Low works with young people encouraging them to become creators as well as consumers of technology in her role as Director of Outreach and Widening Participation for WMG, University of Warwick. Margaret’s interactive workshops explore creative aspects of technology. She collaborates with organisations and communities to explore inclusive, creative learning experiences using technology. Margaret uses TurtleStitch as an approach to physical computing. It bridges the world of programming and textiles in a way that is accessible to young and old alike, bringing a very creative and practical dimension to computer programming.

Phil Jemmett trained in chemistry but left the lab after realising that talking science and inspiring young people to consider STEM careers was more fun. He has delivered events in libraries, museums, community groups, schools, universities, and once in someone’s lounge. Phil works at WMG at the University of Warwick with experts on cutting-edge technologies, sharing their stories with young and old to build trust in science and engineering. After all – if people don’t trust the researchers making innovations possible, the products won’t make it out of the university. Phil believes inspiring the workforce of the future to go into engineering is key to building a green future for everyone to live in.

Hana Ayoob is a freelance science communicator and illustrator. She’s passionate about bringing people together to explore and challenge the world around them. Hana speaks at a range of events, runs creative workshops, produces events and provides public engagement and science communication training and consultancy.

Tea and coffee (with dairy, oat and soya milk and herbal teas), served with a selection of snacks including gluten free and vegan alternatives, will be served in the Zeeman atrium, and there will be further displays/activities in the A0.05 UG Work Room on the ground floor. Remote attendees can chat with in-person attendees in Zoom.

Join maths communicators Katie Steckles and Ben Sparks for a mathematical writing challenge.

Katie Steckles is a mathematician based in Manchester, who gives talks and workshops and writes about mathematics. She finished her PhD in 2011, and since then has talked about maths in schools and universities, at science and music festivals, on BBC radio and TV, as part of theatre shows, in books and on the internet.

Ben Sparks is a mathematician, musician, and public speaker. He gives maths talks and workshops around the world, to students, teachers, and the general public. He's part freelance and part-time with the University of Bath where he teaches on the Communicating Maths course. His performances include regular work with the Numberphile YouTube channel (run by Brady Haran – recently awarded the Zeeman Medal for Promotion of Maths) where his videos have been watched over 16 million times. He also runs his own YouTube channel SparksMaths.

The keynotes at TMiP 2025 are sponsored by the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences.

We'll close the main part of the conference with an informal chat with Professor Julia Gog, and as well as hearing about her work in communicating maths and the different kinds of audiences she's worked with, we'll see what we can learn from her experiences. There'll be time for your own questions too.

Julia Gog is the Professor of Mathematical Biology, at DAMTP, Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, and the David N. Moore Fellow in mathematics at Queens’ College Cambridge. Julia’s research is in the spread and evolution of infectious disease, particularly influenza. Julia contributed to the scientific advice to the UK government during the COVID-19 emergency, as a member of the modelling group SPI-M, and as a participant of SAGE. Julia is co-lead of the JUNIPER consortium which brings together epidemiological research across several UK universities (maths.org/juniper). Julia is also a keen supporter of mathematics outreach and is the Director of the Millennium Mathematics Project. Julia Gog was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to academia and the COVID-19 response. In 2021, Julia was a co-presenter on the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures.

Final information for the day, information about the evening's social activities and the plan for Saturday morning.

In-person delegates will sign up for dinner in one of a selection of locations with a range of cuisines and price ranges, to split into smaller groups, followed by socialising at a pub (The Flying Standard, CV1 1FL).

On the morning of Saturday 30th August, we will be running a range of networking activities for attendees to participate in. You may join any or all of these as you wish. If you have luggage with you, you can bring it to the Studio in the Herbert Gallery and leave it there from 10am onwards.

For remote attendees, there will be an online space to network, chat, craft and play games, and the puzzle trail (details below) can also be completed remotely.

• Puzzle Trail by Matthew Scroggs - 10.00-12.00.

  Chalkdust Magazine supremo Scroggs is reprising his role from TMiP 2019, TMiP 2021 & TMiP 2023, and putting together an interactive puzzle trail that will take you around the city centre, covering the area around the station and our lunch venue. The trail should take up to an hour, and involve up to around 2 miles of walking, all of which will be level access. Anyone can participate by asking Scroggs for a copy of the instructions from 10.00 onwards.
  The trail should also be possible for remote attendees to complete using Google Streetview and online maps - join the conference Zoom room to get the details.

• Board Games - 10.30-12.30, Herbert Gallery, Studio & in Zoom breakout

  Join your fellow TMiP attendees to play some board games!

• Craft Activities - 10.00-12.00, Herbert Gallery, Studio & in Zoom breakout

  Bring along your latest craft project, or join in with some mathematical crafting activities - knitting, cross-stitch, origami or something else!

At 12pm we will be reconvening for lunch and our closing session. A buffet will be served and final announcements made, and the conference will finish at 1pm.

During this session there will be the opportunity to share your favourite moments and things you've learned during the TMiP conference, and if you'd be interested in sharing something, tell the organisers on the day.

Announcements from this session will be streamed to remote attendees, alongside a virtual lunch - feel free to grab your lunch while you join us.