Paula Rowińska

Former blog contributor

Course: Mathematics of Planet Earth

From: Poland

Hi! My name is Paula and I'm passionate about our amazing world - including the world of maths. This is why I decided to do a PhD in applied mathematics. I'm lucky to be a part of a team of scientists who use their knowledge to prevent climate change. When I'm not doing my research, I write (this is my third blog!), cycle, sing and dance, play piano, learn languages and refuse to beat the addiction to theatres. Find out more about me: https://paularowinska.wordpress.com/, http://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/p.rowinska15, @paularowinska!

On the other side

Mathematics of Planet Earth

I can’t believe it’s already been a year since I participated in the Three Minute Thesis competition. According to tradition, the winner judges the contestants in the following year, so on Wednesday I had the honour to sit next to prominent science communicators and watch excellent young scientists explaining their research in… three minutes. 

This year the Graduate School replaced the Three Minute Thesis competition by the 4Cs Science Communication Competition. Although the idea is similar, there are some differences: 

  • Not only PhD, but also MRes students could participate. 
  • While Three Minute Thesis contestants could use only one static slides, this year almost everything was allowed: Power Point presentations, props and whatever else they were able to carry on stage. 

Should I stay or should I go?

Mathematics of Planet Earth

As I’m approaching the end of my PhD, not only do I have to decide what jobs I’m going to apply for, but also if I want to stay in London or move to another city. I thought I’d share my list of pros and cons in case some of you never lived in London and are trying to decide if you’d enjoy studying here. 

+Theatres! No place in the world apart from London and NYC has such a big offer of theatre plays. At any given day you can choose between dozens of musicals, dramas, comedies etc., often rather affordable, if you know where to look. 

I’ll keep my lights on

Mathematics of Planet Earth

Today between 20:30 and 21:30 local time millions of individuals and businesses will switch off the lights to encourage the fight against climate change. Since 2007, when Sydney became dark for one hour, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) managed to spread Earth Hour all over the world. Now every year it engages as many as 7,000 cities all over the world.

Together we’ll speak up for wildlife and forests. We’ll show our support for rivers and oceans. And we’ll rally around crucial actions needed to curb climate change. These claims from the WWF’s official website indeed sound noble. But is Earth Hour really going to solve the problem?

The man who saved π

Mathematics of Planet Earth

I couldn’t call myself a mathematician if I didn’t celebrate Pi Day. Let’s take a moment to appreciate this mathematical constant for… staying constant. Today’s hero came by a hair’s breadth of being changed to 3.2.

Since ancient times mathematicians had been trying to “square the circle”, so given a circle construct a square with the same area, using just a compass and straightedge. Unfortunately for all these fame-seeking mathematicians and amateurs, in 1882 the task was proven impossible. And the culprit was… π.

To square the circle we’d have to construct a square root of π. However, a German mathematician Carl Louis Ferdinand von Lindemann proved that π is a transcendental number, which means it’s not a root of any polynomial with rational coefficients.

Will you supervise me?

Mathematics of Planet Earth

Choosing a PhD supervisor is one of the most important decisions you must make before you start grad school. A bad one can turn three or four years of your life into a nightmare, while a good one will make the experience bearable, if not enjoyable (at times). 

I often get asked for advice on how to approach this decision. Today I’ll share what I did and what factors mattered to me most. However, bear in mind that everyone has different needs and deal-breakers, so please don’t blindly apply all my advice! 

I started looking for a supervisor quite early, over half a year before beginning my PhD.

Statistical resolutions

Mathematics of Planet Earth

Can you believe the time for New Year’s resolutions has come again? Maybe this year you can add to the traditional “I’ll eat healthily”, “I’ll stop smoking” and “I’ll hit the gym regularly” a new one: “I’ll look at statistics carefully”. You can start with these five simple tips. 

  • Reported averages might be meaningless 

An arithmetic mean (sum of all values divided by the number of values), often reported as the average, in fact doesn’t say much about the average value.  

Imagine you’re describing humans to extraterrestrial visitors. How many legs does an average person have? Slightly less than two.

Enjoy the show!

Mathematics of Planet Earth

For theatre addicts London is like a bar for alcoholics: a paradise and a hell at the same time. Since the beginning of my PhD I’ve spent a bit too much money and time on plays and musicals — more than I’d ever publicly admit. Meanwhile I’ve mastered the art of getting cheap tickets, so if you’re also a theatre lover on a student budget, read on! This article isn’t sponsored by any of the companies I mention (unfortunately).  

  1. Install TodayTix on your phone. You’ll be able to book tickets with one swipe, get some additional offers (e.g. 24-hour-long sales) and, most importantly, participate in lotteries.

Write away!

Mathematics of Planet Earth

You picked Imperial to become a scientist, engineer or a medical doctor. What do these careers have in common? You’ll need to write a lot: scientific papers, grant applications, lecture notes, popular science articles. Unfortunately, university curricula lack writing courses, so we end up with thousands of unreadable scientific papers. In my research I’ve chosen some mathematical methods just because the authors made them easy to understand; nobody has time or energy to look for interesting science hiding behind word clutter.

I’m a mathematician, not a writer, and my writing is far from perfect. Let me share five tips to improve your writing so that you can learn from my mistakes.

Feeling British

Mathematics of Planet Earth

I haven’t written for a while as I recently moved to Exeter for a summer internship in Met Office. If you’re interested in what the research here involves, check out my popular science blog. However, my Exeter adventure involves way more than work.

While London and Imperial are as international as it gets, Exeter has a very British (or rather English) feel. Today I spent ages queuing for cream tea and discussing with English colleagues what being British actually involves. Here’s the list of very British things I experienced only today.

  • Queuing. I come from a Central European country, where your place in the queue depends pretty much only on how cunning you are.

Me, myself and I

Mathematics of Planet Earth

I’m definitely a social animal. While I need some “me time” once in a while, I tend to surround myself with people. This is why when I embarked on my first PhD journey, I wasn’t too thrilled to learn that I’d be travelling alone. That sounded so scary, I was afraid that something would go wrong or, in the best case scenario, I’d just feel lonely and miserable for a few days.

Since then I’ve been to so many conferences in various countries, often extended to a mini-vacation. Almost always, completely alone. And let me tell you, I learned to love it.

Learn more about life at Imperial

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