As you might already know, the Annual TMS Symposium will be held in the Winstanley Lecture Theatre, Trinity College on Sunday 21 February. The Symposium will begin at 10:30am and end at 5:30pm so that those attending the dinner will have ample time to get ready. (More details on timing below). We will have a variety of speakers – both fellows and PhD students – across a broad spectrum of mathematical topics.
Fellows: Prof. Malcolm Perry (DAMTP), Dr. Thomas Forster (DPMMS)
PhD Students: Joy Thompson, Patrick Short, Lawrence Barrott
Our key-note speaker will be Professor Miles Reid FRS from the University of Warwick. He will be speaking on the topic of “Finite subgroups of SL(2,CC) and SL(3,CC) and their role in algebraic geometry”. His abstract (which he has kindly written for us in LaTeX) can be found attached.
One of our sponsors, ATASS Sports, has also sent a speaker, Dr. Jonathan Nelson, for the Symposium. Details are below.
Title: Smashing the racket: Detecting match-fixing in tennis via in-play betting irregularities
Abstract: An unfortunate consequence of the recent growth in tennis betting markets has been a heightened incentive for match-fixing – particularly at lower levels of the sport, where earnings are modest, and where the market for one match may dwarf the prize money for an entire tournament. Against this backdrop, an unscrupulous player may be tempted to profit from their position of influence by secretly agreeing to “throw” a particular match, with a complicit third party betting on the result.
This talk summarises the results of a match-fixing study spanning over 5,000 in-play tennis betting markets. After developing a natural point-by-point probabilistic model, featuring novel mechanisms for selecting parameters robustly from the data, we demonstrate that the observed market trajectories correlate extremely closely with this model. We argue that substantial discrepancies represent a “red flag” that something is amiss – either an injury, or something more covert. We also provide visualisations of recent matches where the market evolved pathologically, and assess the evidence that these matches were fixed.
The talks will occur in three blocks (the full schedule and details of each talk will be released very shortly). The order of the talks will roughly alternate between fellows and PhD students.
Block 1: 10:30am – 12:00pm (2 talks)
Lunch
Block 2: 1:00pm – 2:30pm (2 talks)
Break
Block 3: 3:00pm – 5:30pm (3 talks)
There will be drinks and refreshments served in before and after each block. I should note now the Symposium is free for both members and non-members and so please feel welcome to invite people who have not had the chance to visit many Monday talks due to scheduled commitments. I have to say that this year’s symposium looks brilliant and that I will be very tempted to attend all the talks. Moreover, this could be your last chance to see our outgoing TMS President Josh Lam, who will be delighting us with his presence throughout the day and the dinner in the evening. I hope to see you all in droves!MilesReid