NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS

Online Workshop 2: Abstraction in Modern Mathematics

On June 11, 2021, Professor Ivan Ip of the Department of Mathematics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology conducted an online workshop on “Abstraction in Modern Mathematics” — the second online workshop organized exclusively for the secondary students who have registered to participate in the 2021 Hang Lung Mathematics Awards.

During the workshop, Professor Ip shared various ideas on how to perform mathematical research and discussed how modern mathematical research has evolved to become studying abstract ideas. He also explained how the employment of abstraction leads to new discoveries and solutions of classical results, using Abstract Algebra and some past winning reports as examples to demonstrate the application of such skills.

Professor Ip said that there are infinite possibilities of new discoveries and insights in mathematical research, by switching the perspectives from studying problems about numbers to understanding general abstract structures. He hopes that everyone will enjoy the research process.

Students were able to interact with Professor Ip during the Q&A session with some sophisticated questions raised, reflecting students’ keen interest in research and their sharp understanding of the topic being discussed.