Welcome.

There’s not much here at present. I hope to add more in the future, as and when I have time. Don't hold your breath, though.

Meanwhile, a bit about myself. I’m currently living in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, UK, between Manchester and Bradford. By day I work in Steeton, the other side of Haworth Moor. Wuthering Heights anybody? I’m a software engineer and have worked on a variety of platforms over the last few years, from Java web development to Oracle PL/SQL applications, Unix/C and even Windows Mobile. I now work for Echostar Europe, on Linux-based Satellite HDTV set-top boxes.

I am an avid Guardian and Private Eye reader, and also spend much of my spare time listening to Radio 4 and 6 Music. Radio 4 in particular has some superb comedy, as well as the staple diet of news, current affairs, discussion programmes and documentaries. The Now Show is one of my favourites, and I was lucky enough to see a hilarious recording of the show a couple of years ago.

I like to try and get away a few times a year, usually to Scotland or continental Europe. I almost always travel by rail as flying is so damaging to the environment. I am a French speaker, and have had fantastic holidays in French speaking Switzerland, relaxing in Geneva as well as walking in the Alps and Jura mountains. I also love Paris, and try to spend time there a couple of times a year. What better way to arrive than directly into the Gare du Nord by Eurostar?

Music-wise, I'm mainly into retro indie and 60s/70s music, ranging from The Smiths to The Kinks, Paul Simon, The Beach Boys, Joni Mitchell, etc. I've recently seen Morrissey, Paul Simon and Don McLean live, all of whom were excellent. When it comes to classical music, I love composers like Chopin and Beethoven, and go to concerts at the Bridgewater Hall from time to time, especially those by the Hallé Orchestra. I also enjoy attempting to play guitar/bass and piano/keyboard.

I'm originally from Sussex, but moved to the North-West of England to study Mathematics at the University of Liverpool (www.liv.ac.uk/maths), which I followed with a masters degree in Computation at UMIST, now part of the School of Computer Science at the University of Manchester (www.cs.manchester.ac.uk).

Chris Sawer , Hebden Bridge, West Riding of Yorkshire, UK, 25 March 2008

Photography

I studied photography (alongside mathematics and physics) for two years at college, and from time to time still get out to take a few photos, although not as often as I’d like. My equipment ranges from a heavy Mamiya C220 6×6 TLR, through a Canon EOS 500n 35mm SLR, to my digital Olympus C-120. None are particularly expensive, but I’ve had some very nice results from all of them, including the shot of Stoodley Pike Monument on the front page of this site, which was taken with the Olympus. When I get time, I’ll dig out my best photos, scan them in, and put them up.

Mathematics

I studied mathematics for three years at the University of Liverpool (www.liv.ac.uk/maths), and my degree was almost entirely pure maths, by choice. In my final year I studied algebraic and differential geometry, as well as group theory, number theory and harmonic analysis. I did projects on complex dynamics (looking at the Mandelbrot set, and Julia sets in particular), and also the history of quadratic forms.

I am still in regular contact with the department in Liverpool, although not in a research context. My interest these days is in enthusing the general public, children in particular, about mathematics. It is so often perceived as a “boring” subject that only boring people enjoy and are good at. People also tend to think it has no relevance in the real world. Both of these accusations are false, of course, and luckily academics & maths teachers are waking up to the fact that if children are not shown that maths can be interesting and fun then they will never get anywhere. The UK secondary school curriculum still has a long way to go, as I found out when teaching AS Maths part time in 2003/4, but there are some excellent initiatives springing up around the country, and a growing number of enthusiastic and charismatic mathematicians are giving excellent talks and presentations, both on TV/radio and in person. I’ve been lucky enough to see Johnny Ball (www.johnnyball.co.uk), Simon Singh (www.simonsingh.net) and Marcus du Sautoy (www.maths.ox.ac.uk/~dusautoy) give talks, and can thoroughly recommend them if you ever get the chance!

Merseyside in general, and the DMS at the University of Liverpool in particular have a long tradition of reaching out to the community, particularly schools, to show the world that there is more to mathematics than is taught at school. Activities organised include the Maths Club (www.maths.liv.ac.uk/~mathsclub), and the FunMaths Roadshow (information on the LMS page: www.maths.liv.ac.uk/lms.html). I have given a number of presentations to the Maths Club, which is aimed at high achieving young mathematicians aged around fifteen, and they can be found on the above site. The FunMaths Roadshow consists of a number of ‘boxes’ of puzzles aimed at children of all abilities, suitable for ages 10 - 18+. I’ve been involved taking it to local (and national) schools and colleges, and also ended up with the job of typesetting it all electronically for production as a CD-ROM.

Food

My two great passions in life are music and food. Read what I think about music on its own page, but when it comes to food, what can I say? It should be cooked, eaten and enjoyed, not written about! Seriously, at some point in the future I intend to write down my favourite recipes, especially in French as French vegetarian recipes are hard to come by, and French vegan recipes are practically non-existent. I’ve been a vegetarian (no meat, fish or poultry) for nearly a decade, and am now 95% vegan at home (no animal products at all). I revert to being a normal vegetarian when I go out, however, and have no plans to go vegan “full-time”; life’s too short. I also love cooking, and can’t understand people who live on microwave meals, which I find expensive and disgusting!

Français

En ce moment, j’apprend le français à l’Alliance Française de Manchester (www.alliancefrancaisemanchester.org). Quand j’étais à l’école et au lycée, j’étudiais le français, l’allemand et le latin, mais quand j’avais seize ans, j’ai décidé d'étudier les mathématiques, la physique, et la photographie. Quelques années plus tard, j’ai compris que tout le monde apprenait l'anglais, mais les anglais, en général, n’apprennent pas d’autres langues. C’est dommage! J’ai alors décidé de recommencer à apprendre le français. J’ai lu des livres, j’ai écouté des CDs, et quand j’ai déménagé à Manchester, j’ai découvert l’Alliance Française. J’y vais une fois par semaine pour un cours de français, et une ou deux fois par mois pour le Ciné-Club, où l'on voit des films français, puis on en discute.

Merci à Emmanuel pour avoir corrigé mes erreurs françaises!