Can autonomous vehicles make crossings better?
Our current traffic management systems are designed for human-driven vehicles, which begs the question: can traffic management systems be made more efficient when dealing with autonomous vehicles?
How to make decisions in a competitive environment?
When we fight for limited common resources, our decisions will shape opponents’ responses and vice versa. What does mathematics have to say about such situations?
Different ways to predict a flood
In 1995, a flood in the town of Itteren led to the evacuation of 250 000 people and a million animals. Consequently, the Dutch regional water authorities were tasked with calculating how often an area overflows, such that better measures could be taken. How do these calculations work?
Guaranteeing a good shuffle of cards
Four friends, Mark, Richa, Peter and Tom, play cards every evening. Peter is a probabilist while the other three work in algebra. On one evening they become bored of riffle shuffling.
Catching plastic waste from canals
As soon as plastic waste ends up in water, it becomes increasingly difficult to clean up. That’s why it’s important to capture the waste closer to its source, in these canals and rivers. How can mathematical models be used to help clean plastic waste from canals and rivers?
Concluding NETWORKS Conference & Reunion: memories and mathematics
After more than ten incredible years, the NETWORKS programme will officially conclude at the end of 2025. In light of this approaching milestone, the final NETWORKS conference & reunion took place.
What if Set was even harder?
Most people are familiar with the game Set. A bunch of cards are laid out, and players race to spot a triple where each feature is either all the same or all different. What happens when we consider an expansion of this game?
Mathematics through storytelling: interview with Marieke Drost
Visualizing mathematics can be difficult. Especially for non-mathematicians, who may only remember confusing formulas, the shape of a parabola, or a right-angled triangle with sides 'a', 'b', and 'c'. Marieke Drost teaches mathematicians how to communicate using storytelling.
Fighting crime with math: the story of Rafael Prieto-Curiel
Rafael Prieto-Curiel is a mathematician and a faculty member at the Complexity Science Hub in Vienna, Austria. His research focuses on crime, mobility, migration and urban dynamics. We interviewed Rafael to learn about his story.
Honesty is the best policy
How purposeful design can make school choice assignment strategy-proof