Pupils from Edinburgh schools were treated to a guest lecture from the Royal Institution on Saturday as part of the celebrations of 30 years of the Mathematics Masterclasses.
The masterclasses are a great way to engage young people in mathematics and to see the fun side of the subject
Dr Sara Santos, Clothworkers' Fellow in Mathematics, delivered a special lecture on geometry and perspective.
Heriot-Watt, along with Edinburgh and Edinburgh Napier Universities, jointly run a series of seven masterclasses every autumn to selected students from local secondary schools.
Mathematics Masterclasses were set up 30 years ago by the Royal Institution to enhance the public understanding of mathematics and are designed to encourage, inspire and engage young people in the art and practice of mathematics. The highly interactive sessions introduce students to aspects or applications of maths which may not usually be covered in the school curriculum. Topics range from art to cryptography, not forgetting dinosaurs, mazes and paper folding!
Dr Nick Gilbert, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, who has been running the Heriot-Watt masterclasses for 15 years, said: "The masterclasses are a great way to engage young people in mathematics and to see the fun side of the subject. We were fortunate to have Sara Santos involved this year, and her session really showed mathematics in action."