The first group of essays from the 2023 Teddy Rocks Maths Competition. The showcase will take place throughout June and July with the winners being announced at the end.

The competition is organised with St Edmund Hall at the University of Oxford and offers a cash prize plus publication on the university website for the winners. It will be running again in early 2024 so be sure to follow Tom (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) to make sure you don’t miss the announcement!

Erin investigates the maths behind voting systems around the world.

Justin uses the mathematical theory of ‘Optimal Stopping’ to solve a range of problems.

Ewan explains how to use analytic continuation to define the factorial function for non-integers.

Sal pens a heartfelt letter to their love of the subject of mathematics.

This essay explores a mathematical function which links three seemingly unrelated subjects.

This essay takes us on a trip to the infinite.

This essay looks at elliptic curves and how they are used in public key cryptography.

Callum tackles the concept of zero from varying perspectives.

Edward provides an overview of the mathematical structure of snowflakes.

Oliver shows the many applications of number theory that we may come across in our daily lives.

This essay takes a closer look at the frequencies and tuning systems present in music.

This essay takes a philosophical view of the concept of nothing.