School members will already be aware that we are hosting the 57th Annual Meeting of the Australian Mathematical Society during the mid-semester break; see the conference web-site http://www.maths.usyd.edu.au/u/austms2013/index.html . In conjunction with this conference, Sommer Gentry from the mathematics department of the US Naval Academy in Maryland will give a public lecture on the Tuesday. Please promote this, and the other public lecture by Akshay Venkatesh on the Monday, to any students/friends/family members who would be interested in finding out about new discoveries in pure mathematics (Venkatesh) and new applications of mathematics to modern society (Gentry) from exciting young speakers. Time: Tuesday 1 October, 7-8pm (preceded by drinks and canapes) Venue: Eastern Avenue Auditorium, University of Sydney Speaker: Sommer Gentry (USNA) Title: Faster, safer, healthier: adventures in operations research Free and aimed at the general public, no registration necessary. For more information see http://www.maths.usyd.edu.au/u/austms2013/public_lectures.html .