UQ percolates a good cup of maths

A new field in mathematics called percolation has emerged and one University of Queensland researcher has his cup ready to go.

Dr Murray Elder, from UQ’s School of Physical Sciences, is an expert on algebraic graphs called Cayley graphs which have many weird properties.

“Cayley graphs are an example of infinite graphs that just go on and on,” he said.

“The term percolation is used when infinite clusters form in the graphs, similar to water flowing through coffee grounds to form a pot of coffee.”

Dr Elder said for mathematicians it was a challenging and exciting field.

“Percolation is an idea that comes from physics and is currently a hot topic in pure mathematics,” he said.

“This research is maths for maths sake, but like all cutting edge research you don’t always know where you will end up, that’s part of the beauty of it.”

Dr Elder’s passion for and expertise for these infinite graphs has led to his being invited to the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM) in Palo Alto, California, for a workshop on “Percolation on transitive graphs” this week.

He said the workshop would bring together researchers from a range of backgrounds and levels of expertise from around the world to collaborate on open problems and conjectures surrounding percolation - and no doubt drink a lot of coffee.

"I hope to both learn and contribute to the workshop and to establish new and ongoing international collaborations with the researchers present," said Dr Elder.

UQ is a member of Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) which also runs similar workshops and conferences here in Australia on cutting edge mathematical research.

“I really urge students to participate in workshops such as these,” he said.

“The satisfaction and opportunities that these types of workshops provide students with, is what being a mathematician is all about.”

Media inquiries: Lynelle Ross, Communications and Marketing Officer (07 3346 9935 or email l.ross@sps.uq.edu.au).