Invited Speakers

Dr Florian Beyer

I am a senior lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics of the University of Otago. I got my PhD in 2007 from the Max-Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Germany. After two years of postdoc life in Stockholm and in Paris, I moved to Dunedin about 6 years ago. My research is at the intersection of geometry and so-called partial differential equations with particular emphasis on Albert Einstein’s famous theory of “General relativity” and cosmology.

For researchers in my field, these are extremely exciting times: Just after Albert Einstein’s theory had celebrated its 100th birthday in 2015, gravitational waves (unbelievably tiny ripples in the continuum of space and time) were finally measured directly for the very first time this year. Who knows … this huge breakthrough may very well revolutionise our understanding of the universe!

Dr Ting Wang

I am a Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Otago. I received my PhD from Massey University in 2010. Prior to joining the University of Otago in 2012, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Massey University. I have established international collaborations and often visit colleagues at the University of Tokyo and in the Institute of Statistical Mathematics in Tokyo.

My research field is multidisciplinary, centering on the interface of statistics and geophysics. My main focus has been on the development of statistical models and their application to real-world problems in geosciences. This includes analytical and numerical methods for missing data problems in point processes, theoretical and applied methods of stochastic processes and hidden Markov models for spatiotemporal geophysical hazards, as well as time series analysis for extracting anomalous signals from noisy datasets related to earthquake processes including hydrological data and GPS measurements of ground deformation.

Dr Matthew Parry

I am a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Otago. I began my academic life as a physicist and somewhere along the way ended up being a statistician! My interests revolve around statistical and mathematical modelling, with both applied and theoretical aspects.

Currently, my research is focused on modelling disease spread in food crop species with the aim of developing control strategies for emerging epidemics. My other focus is on the development and use of scoring rules to evaluate probabilistic forecasts.