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150th Anniversary Local Heroes Grant

2015 Local Heroes Grant Scheme

 

The London Mathematical Society (LMS), founded in 1865, is the UK’s learned society for mathematics and will be marking its 150th Anniversary in 2015. To commemorate this historic occasion, the Society will be launching a year-long programme of events aimed at celebrating the contributions of UK mathematics, looking back over 150 years of achievements and looking forward to exciting opportunities in mathematics for future generations. The three themes for the anniversary celebrations are; 150 Years of the LMS and Mathematics, Mathematics as Part of our Culture, and New ways of Communicating Mathematics.

As part of this programme of events and activities the Society is inviting museums across the country to become involved in a Local Heroes Scheme, with the Society supporting exhibitions celebrating mathematicians with significant relevance to a given museum’s local region.

Exhibition: The UK is one of the major historical centres of mathematics research and advancement, driven by numerous prominent mathematicians and scientists. In celebrating their achievements, the LMS wishes to trace the history of these academics, placing them in the context of the communities that supported them.

Up to eight museums will be selected for this collaborative scheme, creating exhibitions that explore their local mathematical heroes in depth, laying out their life history and work in tandem with interactive talks and demonstrations from regional researchers.

Objective: The aim of this programme is to promote the excitement and accessibility of mathematics to as wide an audience as possible, whilst allowing the public to engage with the history of the subject in their own region. The LMS also wishes to promote connections between local mathematics academics and science outreach centres to the benefit of both.

Curation: The curation of this project will be led by the individual museums. Museums will be paired with an LMS Representative(s) from local institutions who will act as advisors and be able to help with content creation. These teams will liaise with a central administrator from the LMS.

Content: The suggested exhibition would comprise of a core display created by the museums in collaboration with LMS Representatives and their local institutions. A supplementary set of exhibition material can be provided by the LMS, including interactive demonstrations and displays of current mathematical research.

 

Application Criteria

Institution:

  1. Institutions must be either an accredited museum or gallery with premises dedicated for that purpose, or a library or archive;

  2. Institutions must be in the United Kingdom;

  3. The LMS will accept joint applications from institutions but for funding purposes they will count as one award.

 

Proposal:

  1. The hero (or heroes) that you wish to celebrate must be either formally trained mathematicians, or have used mathematics extensively in their work. They must also have a significant connection to the local region of your institution.

  2. The activity must be for a public audience and not an event or conference for academics;

  3. All proposed activities must take place between 1 January, 2015 and 31 December, 2015

 

Funding:

  1. Grants will be £4000 pounds each.

 

Branding and publicity:

  1. All successful proposed activities must carry the London Mathematical Society branding.

  2. Successful applicants will be featured on the Society’s website.

 

Proposal Submission Deadline:  7 November, 2014

 

How to Apply:

Proposals should be sent to Ann Thresher at ann.thresher@lms.ac.uk by the 5th of November, 2014.

In completing the application form, you will need to:

  1. Appoint a project leader who will be our primary contact for all matters relating to the application process, award management and payment of the grant;

  2. Provide details of other participating institutions if applicable;

  3. Provide details of the proposed activity and the audiences you hope to reach;

  4. Provide details of the hero(es) that you hope to celebrate and their involvement in your area;

  5. Provide a timetable and duration of proposed activity;

  6. Provide costings;

  7. Provide details of how you will measure the success of the proposed activity.

 

The proposal form may be found at the bottom of this page.

 

How your application will be processed:

Proposals will be assessed according to:

  1. Originality of the proposal;

  2. Clarity of ideas and purpose;

  3. Proposals where the hero(es) being celebrated are clearly embedded in the local community;

  4. Well thought out public engagement activities that engage with a wide audience.

  5. A clear plan for involving local mathematicians in the event and/or planning process. 

 

Application Form (.docx)