The G. S. Watson Annual Lecture, 2008
Emeritus Professor Neville de Mestre
Title: "Some Mathematical Connections with Sport"
Presenter: Neville de Mestre, Emeritus Professor,
Bond University
Date: Wednesday, 10 September 2008, 5pm to 6pm, Room EDU239 – Education Lecture Theatre, La Trobe University, Bendigo
Abstract: The role of mathematics in sport is helping our sports' scientists, coaches and competitors to improve in many ways their potential to achieve success. The talk will focus on many sports and their mathematical application at the primary, secondary and tertiary level of education, as well as the research being carried out in various areas. There will be ideas put forward that are accessible to all persons interested in sport, no matter their particular level of mathematical ability.
Sports covered will include tennis, darts, football, cricket, baseball, athletics, rowing, golf, horse-racing and triathlon.
About the Presenter: Neville de Mestre is Emeritus Professor at Bond University where he was on the staff from 1989 to 2003. Prior to that he was a high school teacher (1960-61) and then lectured at the Australian Defence Force Academy and RMC Duntroon for twenty-seven years.
Neville's early research was in fluid dynamics (shock waves, viscous fluids and bushfire modelling). His research area for the past twenty years has been mathematics and sport. This year he published (with Graeme Cohen) an undergraduate and graduate book entitled "Figuring Sport". His earlier publication in this area was "The Mathematics of Projectiles in Sport".
Neville is still active in orienteering and surf life saving at the masters' level and has a few national age titles under his belt.