2024 Moyal Medal Presentation and Lecture

The Moyal Medal, awarded annually, honours distinguished research contributions in mathematics, physics, or statistics, in tribute to the late Professor José Enrique Moyal who was one of Australia’s most remarkable scientists. His insight into the interaction between mathematics, physics and statistics led him to make contributions to these disciplines which have had far-reaching ramifications in all three fields.

The Moyal Medal Committee and Macquarie University Faculty of Science and Engineering are pleased to invite you to the Moyal Medal Presentation and Lecture to celebrate the achievements of this year's Medalist, Professor Alan Welsh of The Australian National University.

The 2024 Medalist, Professor Welsh, is the EJ Hannan Professor of Statistics at the Australian National University (ANU). Professor Sakkie Pretorius, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research at Macquarie University, will present the 2024 Moyal Medal to Professor Alan Welsh. 

The artificial intelligence (AI) tools that are all around us rely on statistical methods to make sense of vast quantities of data. Professor Welsh’s lecture, titled "Up and Down: The Challenge of Double Descent," will explore the intriguing phenomenon of 'double descent' in AI and big data. Using visuals, he will explain how this surprising behaviour, tied to model complexity, data distribution, and training dynamics, reshapes our understanding of statistical models and challenges traditional methods.

Learn more about Professor Alan Welsh and the evening’s topic, and the Moyal Medal.

This is a free event but will require REGISTRATION.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact us at fse.outreach@mq.edu.au.

We look forward to welcoming you to the event.