Machine-Assisted Proofs
- Speaker
-
Terence Tao, Ph.D.Professor, James and Carol Collins Chair, College of Letters and Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles
The 2025 lecture series in mathematics and computer science is “Discovering Mathematics Through Computers.” Computers are revolutionizing the way we explore mathematical concepts. In this series, mathematicians will discuss how computational techniques are enabling new approaches to developing conjectures and proving and verifying theorems. Topics will include algorithmic number theory, formal proof verification and the role of machine learning and computational simulations in uncovering new mathematical insights. These lectures will highlight the synergy between mathematics and computer science, illustrating how digital tools expand mathematical knowledge’s frontiers.
2025 Lecture Series Themes
Biology: Mechanisms of Evolution
Mathematics and Computer Science: Discovering Mathematics Through Computers
Presidential Lectures are free public colloquia centered on four main themes: Biology, Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Neuroscience and Autism Science. These curated, high-level scientific talks feature leading scientists and mathematicians and are intended to foster discourse and drive discovery among the broader NYC-area research community. We invite those interested in the topic to join us for this weekly lecture series.
For centuries, mathematicians have relied on computers to perform calculations, suggest conjectures, and assist in developing mathematical proofs. In light of more modern tools such as interactive theorem provers, machine learning algorithms and generative AI, machines are playing a more creative and substantive role in the work of mathematicians.
In this Presidential Lecture, Terence Tao will survey historical and recent developments in the use of machines in mathematics. He will also speculate on the future roles of machine assistance in the field.
About the Speaker
Tao was born in Adelaide, Australia, in 1975. He has been a professor of mathematics at UCLA since 1999, having completed his Ph.D. under Elias Stein at Princeton University in 1996. Tao’s research areas include harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, combinatorics and number theory. He has received many awards, including the Salem Prize in 2000, the Fields Medal in 2006, a MacArthur Fellowship in 2007, the Crafoord Prize in 2012 and the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics in 2015. Tao also holds the James and Carol Collins chair in mathematics at UCLA and is a fellow of the Royal Society, the Australian Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. From 2020 to 2024, he served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.