March 2021
Thesis Completions
Although we are still waiting for the marking process to be completed, we have had quite a few submissions this month - so I think we can congratulate our colleagues anyway!
Lindsay Morris has submitted his PhD - titled "Spatio-temporal modelling for non-stationary point referenced data". Lindsay has been part of SMS since his undergraduate years and stuck with us the whole way through. He spent his postgraduate years working with Nokuthaba Sibanda as his supervisor. He has now started work at StatsNZ but will occassionally be in the office tying up a few loose ends - make sure to pass on your congratulations if you see him around the office!
Joshua Baines has submitted his MSc - titled "Unit-Lapse Forms of Various Spacetimes". Joshua specialised in physics for his undergraduate years, but jumped over to SMS to work along Matt Visser. W
Thomas Berry has also submitted his MSc - titled "Mimicking Black Holes in General Relativity". Thomas also specialised in physics but also had mathematics as part of his BSc majors. He stuck around with us to also work with Matt Visser on his thesis.
We hope to hear of everyones future successes and hope they stay in touch with us.
Hons Hot desks
It has come to our attention that Honors students might not be aware of hot desks that are availiable for use in the graduate labs. These desks are labelled as "Hot Desks" and the number of workstations available will vary depends on demand for allocated workstations. Please be respectful of cleanliness and noise in these spaces as there are people with their permanent workstations in these labs.
Math students will have access to the hot desks in CO437, Data and Stat students will have access to CO540. If you have problems accessing the labs with your student ID, please email
Caitlin.
If you require storage, there are some lockers availiable in each room. Please use the QR codes on the lockers to register - otherwise, your locker may be emptied in the semester breaks. You will need to provide your own padlock.
NZMOSA volunteers wanted
The New Zealand Mathematics Olympiad Students Association is starting a seminar series on campus and are looking for speakers. NZMOSA is a group of secondary school students from the Wellington region who are interested in exploring more advanced mathematics and research. They would like to hear from some of our graduate researchers on what you have been working on and where your interests lie.
The series will be running from Thursday April 8th in EA120, 5pm to 6:30pm continuing fortnightly.
If you are interested in talking to these students, please email
Caitlin.
2021 Logic Group Seminars
Our logic seminar series has successfully rebooted for 2021! This is open to anyone interested in mathematical logic, broadly defined: past topics have included computability and randomness, set theory (AC, NF), algorithms & complexity, category theory, descriptive set theory and applications to groups. We have already had interesting talks this year on generic computability and constructive logic. Talks are every second Monday at 1-2pm in CO431 - if you are interested, please email Jordan (
math@jmbarrett.nz) to be added to the mailing list.
VUW Proof Assistants Group
VUW's proof assistants group has started off with a bang, with engagement from both mathematicians (SMS) and computer scientists (ECS). We have been running a successful series of introductory Coq tutorials, as well as more theoretical sessions on type theory. Now, we are starting a project to formalise some basic results of graph theory in Coq. Writing formal proofs is challenging, fun, and addictive, and we encourage all those interested in mathematics / computer science to get involved. If you're interested, email Jordan (
math@jmbarrett.nz). We meet every Tuesday from 2-4pm in CO255 - hope to see you there!
Ihaka Lecture Series
The Ihaka lecture series is held in honour of Ross Ihaka (one of the original authors of R). The series will be starting up in the next few months and is availiable to view online. The seminars are listed on
UoAs website.
Upcoming lectures include:
Job Opportunities
Tutor Wanted - STAT193
Michaela is looking got a STAT193 to do weekly sessions on either Monday or Friday mornings after 10am.
Hourly rate is open to negotiation.
If you are interested, please contact her at
myburgmichaela@gmail.com
Tutor Wanted - STAT292
Hunter Stent is looking for a STAT292 tutor. If you are interested, please email him ar
hunterstent@gmail.com. The position is paid at $25 per hour, and he hopes to see you for atleast 1 hour a week.
Tutor Wanted - STAT292
Iggy is looking for an ongoing tutor for STAT292 and for subsequent semesters. Tutoring will focus on the core papers required for a STAT minor. The position is paid at $40 per hour and she would like to meet once or twice per week.
If you are interested, you can contact Iggy via phone (022 650 3968) or email (
ijaana.h@gmail.com)
Graduate Innovation Analyst – Fixed Term - Tertiary Education Commission
Are you a student or graduate in computer science, data science or engineering that loves to figure out new and better ways of working?
Do you enjoy a fast-paced and unpredictable environment and can demonstrate:
- analytical and problem-solving abilities;
- data analysis and data science skills; and
- accuracy and attention to detail?
If so the Tertiary Education Commission has the role for you.
The TEC - Te Amorangi Mātauranga Matua is a small Crown agency with a big job to do – ensuring New Zealanders have the skills and the knowledge they need to ensure lifelong success to build a great country. We lead the Government's relationship with the tertiary education sector in New Zealand and provide career services from education to employment.
The Innovation team in Programmes and Architecture is looking for a graduate Innovation Analyst to cover someone on six months' leave. In this role you will assist other members the Innovation Team using data and technology to take the TEC into the future, using the principle of imagineering (imagine the future and engineer your way back to make it happen).
This role sits within the Programmes and Architecture team within the Information Directorate of the Tertiary Education Commission, the agency responsible for leading the government's relationship with, and investment in, New Zealand's tertiary education sector.
As the successful candidate, you will work alongside other innovation analysts and data scientists to develop your skills in a highly stimulating and diverse work environment. You need to have, or be working towards, a relevant tertiary qualification and possess a confident, can-do attitude.
What will you get in return?
- An opportunity to join an organisation that has a significant impact on our education and careers systems.
- $53k – $62k depending on experience.
- A range of benefits including flexible working options.
If this sounds of interest, please apply now. Applications close 5pm, 11 April 2021. For more information see the position description or if you have any questions, please contact
hr@tec.govt.nz.
For more information, visit the
job listing.
