Uploaded December 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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The Black Heroes of Mathematics, a talk by Dr Nira Chamberlain (IMA President and SNC Lavalin)

In this talk, Dr Nira Chamberlain (President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications) looks at the Black Heroes of Mathematics.

The 2017 film, “Hidden Figures”, is based on the true story of a group of black female mathematicians that served as the brains behind calculating the momentous launch of the NASA astronaut John Glenn into orbit. However, these mathematicians of colour are not the only ‘Hidden Figures’.

Nira discusses other inspirational men and women who overcame obstacles to prove that ‘mathematics is truly for everybody!’

This talk was given online, on 23 November 2021, to the IMA London branch