Katrin Leschke, Chloe Aligianni, Lee Boyd Allatson, Jenny Hibberd, Andrew Johnston

Reader in Mathematics
University of Leicester
Leicester
I am a reader in Mathematics. I obtained my Diploma and PhD on topics in geometry at TU Berlin. Before joining the University of Leicester in 2007, I hold research positions at TU Berlin, the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and the University of Augsburg where I was awarded my habilitation. My research expertise is in surface theory, integrable systems and visualisation. As well as leading an international network team working on minimal surfaces, which is funded by the Leverhulme Trust, I currently also work on applications of surface theory in engineering and chemistry. I have received funding for a public engagement activity from the ISSF, funded by the Wellcome Trust, which explores in a joint project with artists how modern research can be communicated to a wider community.
The Arts of the Finite Topology Conjecture
The Arts of the Finite Topology Conjecture
00:04:59:04:59
Film by Chloe Aligianni, Additional footage: G Sian & artists, Sound: Lee Boyd Allatson & Andrew Johnston. Funders:Wellcome Trust, Leverhulme Trust.Led by University of Leicester & Dr.Katrin Leschke
2020
This film was created as a lens into the Minimal Surfaces Artists' Views collaborative project led by Dr. Katrin Leschke and the University of Leicester. Three artists - musician Lee Boyd Allatson, choreographer Chloe Aligianni and multidisciplinary artist Jenny Hibberd were invited into the world of minimal surface theory and asked to respond to the research with an artist's mindset. In the area of surface theory, computer graphics already allow to show images of the work, however, the deeper beauty of a mathematical surface often appears for a mathematician from its context in mathematics: the question we want to address in this project is how to communicate this deeper understanding of mathematics to non-experts. We sought to explore the intersections between two seemingly opposing worlds and reveal a complex theory in a more accessible way. The film depicts the maths and arts behind the project and offers a glimpse into this meeting of disciplines.