#appliedmathematics — Public Fediverse posts

Reflections on the 2026 Leaving Certificate Results

Yesterday I attended my last two Examination Boards for the year at Maynooth University. one for graduating MSc students and another for undergraduate repeat students in Engineering (which I attend because I’m teaching a mathematics course they do). That, more or less, is the end of the business (for me) for the 2025/6 academic year. No sooner is that done, however, than preparations for the start of the 2026/7 teaching session begins, as we wait to find out how many new students we will be admitting to our courses in September.

Today’s the day that over 70,000 school students across Ireland received their Leaving Certificate Results. As always there will be joy for some, and disappointment for others. The headline news relating to these results is that the proportion of students receiving the top grades in higher level examinations (i.e. H1) is down significantly from 11.7% last year to 10.1% this year. This fall is because various adjustments that were made during the Covid-19 pandemic are gradually being wound down. After next year they will disappear altogether.

I thought I would have a quick look at the results for subjects relevant to Physics:

(A is higher level and G is ordinary level). Please note that this year’s numbers are provisional and may change as a result of appeals, etc. The full details can be found here.

You can see that the number of students taking these subjects has increased since last year, but in all cases the percentage getting top grades has fallen.

Comparison with earlier years is interesting. Here are the H1 percentages for Mathematics, Physics and Applied Mathematics since 2019:

You can see that although these percentages have declined from their respective peaks they remain well above 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

It is also worth noting that the number of students taking Physics (A) nationally seems to be recovering from a sharp drop in 2022-4, the numbers being: 6583(2019); 7037(2020); 7210(2021); 6487(2022); 6143(2023); 6009 (2024); 6592 (2025); and 6855 (2026).

Anyway, now that the results are out there will be a busy time until next Wednesday (26th August) when the CAO first round offers go out. That is when those students wanting to go to university find out if they made the grades and university departments find out how many new students (if any) they will have to teach in September. Incidentally, colleagues in the UK might be interested to know that, here in Maynooth, departments have no say in admissions decisions: these are all made centrally.

P.S. When I was a little kid we used to call a “Certificate” a “Stiff Ticket”. I just thought you would like to know that.

Postdoc in AI for Medical Imaging & Simulation
Arnaout Lab @UCSF

Postdoc at the intersection of AI, modeling, and healthcare!

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/arnaout-lab-ucsf-27778-postdoc-in-ai-for-medical-imaging-simulation/

#appliedmathematics #appliedphysics #artificialintelligence #computervision #datascience #medicalimaging #ScienceJobs #hiring ...
https://jobrxiv.org/job/arnaout-lab-ucsf-27778-postdoc-in-ai-for-medical-imaging-simulation/?fsp_sid=14521

#Physics #AppliedMathematics #ComputationalScience #CognitiveScience #InformationRetrieval #GraphTheory #Rust #Databases #AI

https://github.com/Lucerna-Labs/atom-db

As of yesterday, June 9th, 2026, the asteroid 1996 PX8 has been officially named after our colleague and friend, Angel Jorba.

Angel was a mentor, a brilliant colleague, and a dear friend to most of us. This is a small tribute to honor his memory and his lasting legacy. 🌌✨

🔗 Find more information about the asteroid here: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=angeljorba

#Astronomy #Asteroids #AppliedMathematics #DynamicalSystems #Tribute #InMemoriam

Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) are artificial intelligence models pre-programmed with fundamental physical laws to accurately predict how quickly controlled-release materials will dispense therapeutic agents.
#ArtificialIntelligence #ComputationalPharmaceutics #AppliedMathematics #MaterialsEngineering #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/07/ai07062601.html

The rate-mismatch hypothesis posits that global mass extinctions occur when the pace of environmental change outstrips the rate at which biological life can undergo evolutionary adaptation. It provides a mathematical model linking Earth's historic extinction events to the critical disparities between environmental shifts and species' adaptive capabilities.
#Paleobiology #Paleoclimatology #Geophysics #AppliedMathematics #EvolutionaryBiology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/06/pal06242601.html

Frenet–Serret Formula ✍️

It explains how a curve reveals its hidden geometry by tracking the way it bends and twists through space. Imagine tracing the path of a roller coaster, a winding river, or the spiral of a DNA strand. At every point along the path, the curve is constantly changing direction, and the Frenet–Serret formulas provide a precise way to describe that change.

They do this by attaching a moving frame of three special directions to each point on the curve. The first points forward along the path, showing where the curve is heading. The second points inward, toward the direction of bending. The third stands perpendicular to both, capturing how the curve twists out of its plane. Together, they form a local coordinate system that travels with the curve itself.

As you move along the curve, these three directions rotate and evolve. The formulas measure this evolution using two key quantities: curvature and torsion. Curvature tells how sharply the path bends, while torsion tells how strongly it twists into three dimensions. If curvature vanishes, the path becomes straight; if torsion vanishes, the curve lies flat in a plane.

Mathematicians and physicists use the Frenet–Serret formulas to study motion, design smooth paths in engineering, understand particle trajectories, and analyze natural shapes. They transform a simple line into a rich geometric story, revealing exactly how space is being navigated at every step.

#FrenetSerretFormula #DifferentialGeometry #Geometry #Mathematics #Math #PureMathematics #AppliedMathematics #MathematicalPhysics #Physics #STEM #ScienceEducation #MathEducation #Curvature #Torsion #SpaceCurves #VectorCalculus #Calculus #LinearAlgebra #GeometricAnalysis

💼 #Job #opportunities

3 x #ResearchFellow roles to work on #ESRCfunded Connecting #Generations projects, based at the #UniversityofStAndrews

📨 Apply by 29 June. More info: https://www.cpc.ac.uk/news/vacancies/

#jobs #researchjobs #jobsearch #demography #statistics #computerscience #appliedmathematics #phd #Geography #socialscience #longitudinaldata #dataanalysis #qualitativedata #eventhistoryanalysis #population #intergenerational #family #fertility #socialsciences #migration #community

Postdoc in AI for Medical Imaging & Simulation
Arnaout Lab @UCSF

Postdoc at the intersection of AI, modeling, and healthcare!

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/arnaout-lab-ucsf-27778-postdoc-in-ai-for-medical-imaging-simulation/

#appliedmathematics #appliedphysics #artificialintelligence #computervision #datascience #medicalimaging #ScienceJobs #hiring ...
https://jobrxiv.org/job/arnaout-lab-ucsf-27778-postdoc-in-ai-for-medical-imaging-simulation/?fsp_sid=12153

Researchers have developed a novel mathematical model that treats biological tissue as a fluid composed of elongated, aligned particles to explain how surrounding cellular forces influence the speed and shape of wound closure. The model demonstrates that the structural orientation of cells around a wound actively dictates healing dynamics.
#TheoreticalPhysics #AppliedMathematics #Biomechanics #Mechanobiology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/04/phy04272601.html

Postdoc in AI for Medical Imaging & Simulation
Arnaout Lab @UCSF

Postdoc at the intersection of AI, modeling, and healthcare!

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/arnaout-lab-ucsf-27778-postdoc-in-ai-for-medical-imaging-simulation/

#appliedmathematics #appliedphysics #artificialintelligence #computervision #datascience #medicalimaging #SimulationandModelin...
https://jobrxiv.org/job/arnaout-lab-ucsf-27778-postdoc-in-ai-for-medical-imaging-simulation/?fsp_sid=10969

Researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology developed a streamlined method for predicting #chaotic systems using tree-based machine learning algorithms instead of complex neural networks.
#Physics #AppliedMathematics #DataScience #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/02/phy02112601.html

“Becoming part of a mentoring scheme is also some of the advice I would give to my 18-year-old self too — to look out for networking opportunities and mentorship programmes; to find people who have chosen a similar path. ” - Christina Runkel

➡️ https://hermathsstory.eu/christina-runkel

#AppliedMathematics #Postdoc #ComputerScience #MachineLearning #WomenInTech

My #introduction keywords: #academic #modelling #evolution #cooperation #gameTheory #ecology #appliedMathematics

I'm a #postdoc specialising in evolutionary and ecological modelling, currently at #QUT and #GriffithUni in #Australia

Previous work: #evolutionOfCooperation, estimating undetected #extinctions, #qualitativemodelling, migratory #phenology, #foodweb #modelling, local #adaptation, #carryover effects, #dispersal.

My blog: https://nadiah.org/

Funded PhD - hypergraph ML for chemistry
University College Dublin

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/university-college-dublin-27778-funded-phd-hypergraph-ml-for-chemistry/

#appliedmathematics #computationalchemistry #machinelearning #Network #NetworkScience #ScienceJobs #hiring #research
https://jobrxiv.org/job/university-college-dublin-27778-funded-phd-hypergraph-ml-for-chemistry/?fsp_sid=4176

Today our team member Anna Breger tells her story - “Many little twists and turns have brought me to where I am now and I am absolutely thrilled about my interdisciplinary research project working on image analysis and historical music manuscripts.”

➡️ Find her full story at https://hermathsstory.eu/anna-breger/

#AppliedMathematics #ImageAnalysis #Music #InterdisciplinaryResearch #NonTraditionalPathways #DataScience #HerMathsStory

Senior Mathematical Physicist
Recognition Physics Research Institute

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/recognition-physics-research-institute-27778-senior-mathematical-physicist/

#appliedmath #appliedmathematics #math #mathematics #ScienceJobs #hiring #research
https://jobrxiv.org/job/recognition-physics-research-institute-27778-senior-mathematical-physicist/?fsp_sid=3980

Senior Mathematical Physicist
Recognition Physics Research Institute

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/recognition-physics-research-institute-27778-senior-mathematical-physicist/

#appliedmath #appliedmathematics #math #mathematics #ScienceJobs #hiring #research
https://jobrxiv.org/job/recognition-physics-research-institute-27778-senior-mathematical-physicist/?fsp_sid=3553

Senior Mathematical Physicist
Recognition Physics Research Institute

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/recognition-physics-research-institute-27778-senior-mathematical-physicist/

#appliedmath #appliedmathematics #math #mathematics #ScienceJobs #hiring #research
https://jobrxiv.org/job/recognition-physics-research-institute-27778-senior-mathematical-physicist/?fsp_sid=3546

Funded PhD - hypergraph ML for chemistry
University College Dublin

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/university-college-dublin-27778-funded-phd-hypergraph-ml-for-chemistry/

#appliedmathematics #computationalchemistry #machinelearning #Network #NetworkScience #ScienceJobs #hiring #research
https://jobrxiv.org/job/university-college-dublin-27778-funded-phd-hypergraph-ml-for-chemistry/?fsp_sid=3028

Look guys, in 1999 Bill Schelter released the DOE version of Macsyma he'd been solo maintaining for 20 years called Maxima, and in the 26 years since a small band of maintainers many of whom were contributors to the original thing at MIT have been maintaining and enhancing it. And Y'ALL just SLEEPING on this shit like it doesn't exist. How many of y'all even have it up in your computer? Install that shit and start doing math.

#maxima #computeralgebra #appliedmathematics

Interested in doing a #PhD in #engineering?

Open Position:

➡️ https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/371136

👩‍🎓

#ControlTheory
#AppliedMathematics
#ElectricalEngineering

The intention is to investigate the grid integration of renewable energy. In particular, the researcher will work on oscillation reduction in floating wind turbines and on the stabilization of power grids using virtual synchronous machines.

#HorizonEU

An Applied Mathematics degree is more than just numbers on a page—it’s a passport to solving real‑world problems with precision, creativity, and impact.
Explore whether an applied mathematics degree is worth.
#AppliedMathematics #MathCareers #STEMEducation
https://www.scientificworldinfo.com/2025/08/is-applied-mathematics-degree-worth-it.html

Postdoc position on Benchmarking in Applied Mathematics
Bergische Universität Wuppertal

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/bergische-universitat-wuppertal-27778-postdoc-position-on-benchmarking-in-applied-mathematics/

#appliedmathematics #porthamiltoniansystems #ScienceJobs #hiring #research
https://jobrxiv.org/job/bergische-universitat-wuppertal-27778-postdoc-position-on-benchmarking-in-applied-mathematics/?fsp_sid=1089

Postdoc position on Benchmarking in Applied Mathematics
Bergische Universität Wuppertal

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/bergische-universitat-wuppertal-27778-postdoc-position-on-benchmarking-in-applied-mathematics/

#appliedmathematics #porthamiltoniansystems #ScienceJobs #hiring #research
https://jobrxiv.org/job/bergische-universitat-wuppertal-27778-postdoc-position-on-benchmarking-in-applied-mathematics/?fsp_sid=753