This **in-person theatre** and **livestream** talk is available online from Gresham College to Basingstoke Science subscribers.

**ADVANCE BOOKING AND PAYMENT IS REQUIRED FOR THIS TALK.**
**More details and booking instructions on the Gresham web site:**
**[https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/shape-knots](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/shape-knots)**

**SUMMARY**

#### Part of:

**[The Geometry of Nature and the Shape of Things](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/series/geometry-nature)**

Knots are ubiquitous in the world around us, appearing as tangled cords, shoelaces, or the complex structures of DNA. Far from being nuisances, knots have profound and beautiful mathematical properties with tentacular connections to geometry, topology, physics, and biology. This lecture introduces the fascinating world of knot theory, exploring how the mathematical study of knots helps us understand and predict their formation, stability,

**LIVESTREAM TIMING**
**The livestream will go live at 5.55pm, and the introduction will begin at 6.00pm. If you register but miss the livestream, the video will be available to you via the same link for two weeks after the event date.**

For more information on livestreams, see the information below, or [visit our FAQs page](https://www.rigb.org/whats/faqs-ri-livestreams). Please use the event link you have been provided with.

Gresham College has offered an outstanding education to the public free of charge for over 400 years. Today, Gresham College plays an important role in fostering a love of learning and a greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Please consider making a donation on their web site to support the work of Gresham College.

Bob Clifford

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Louise C

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Gareth Thomas

Robert Sharpe

Shelly Michelle

**Alain Goriely** is a mathematician with broad interests in mathematical methods, mechanics, sciences, and engineering. He is well known for his contributions to dynamical systems, mathematical biology, as well as fundamental and applied mechanics. He is particularly well known for the development of a mathematical theory of biological growth, culminating with his seminal monograph The Mathematics on Mechanics of Biological Growth (2017).

He received his PhD from the University of Brussels in 1994 where he became a lecturer. In 1996, he joined the University of Arizona where he established a research group within the renowned Program of Applied Mathematics. In 2010, he joined the University of Oxford as the inaugural Statutory Professor of Mathematical Modelling and fellow of St. Catherine’s College. He is currently the Director of the Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

In addition, Alain has enjoyed scientific outreach based on problems connected to his research, including tendril perversion in plants, twining plants, umbilical cord knotting, whip cracking, the shape of seashells, brain modelling, and he is the author of a Very Short Introduction to Applied Mathematics (2017). His work has been recognized by a Sloan Fellowship, a Royal Society Wolfson Research Award, the Cozzarelli Prize from the National Academy of Sciences and the Engineering Medal from the Society of Engineering Sciences. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2022.

Cafe Science - Basingstoke: Local & Online Science Talks

Gresham College: "The Shape of Knots: From DNA to Shoestrings and Solar Flares"

Cafe Science - Basingstoke: Local & Online Science Talks

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