Artificial intelligence, data transmission, and digital security took centre stage at St Mary’s Church in Kirkby Lonsdale last week, as Lancaster University researchers brought cutting-edge mathematical science into the heart of the local community.

The event, held on Thursday, 24 July, was part of the Faculty of Science and Technology's (FST) desire to extend its public engagement activities beyond the city centre and into surrounding areas. Designed to make complex ideas accessible and requiring only curiosity, not ‘A’ level maths, from the audience, the night featured three fun and thought-provoking talks that highlighted how maths is driving an increasingly digital world.

Dr Jess Jay, Lecturer in Mathematics, opened the evening with ‘Cryptography: How Maths Keeps Our Secrets’, tracing the evolution of cyphers, taking the audience on a tour through the history and future of digital privacy, explaining how everything from state secrets to the love letters of Victorian adulterers has used maths to protect themselves.

Dr Jay explained: “It was an absolute pleasure to be invited to connect with the community in Kirkby Lonsdale especially at such a beautiful venue as St. Mary's Church. It was great fun to able to share our passion for Mathematics and I hope this is the start of many such events in the areas around Lancaster.”

Dr Henry Moss, Lecturer in Mathematics and AI, followed by asking the audience to rethink preconceived ideas of what AI can and cannot do. With his talk ‘Demystifying AI: Simple Equations, Complex Behaviours’, he explained that rather than the science fiction vision of an all-powerful self-thinking intelligence, AI relies on basic mathematical principles. Simple algorithms allow computers to learn and recognise patterns from large amounts of data.

Rounding out the evening was Dr Dan Fretwell, Lecturer - Security and Protection Science, with ‘A oCmedy of Errosr’, a light-hearted and interactive look at how digital information can travel across the world without becoming corrupted. Using a cleverly disguised magic trick, he demonstrated how mathematics helps detect and correct errors in everything from emails to scratched CDs and QR codes.

The audience of residents, visitors, and students responded enthusiastically to the evening’s engaging approach. Diane Nowell, who organised the night, said the event was part of a longer-term ambition to place St Mary’s Church at the heart of the Kirkby Lonsdale community and deepen the connections with rural areas that surround it.

Diane Nowell said: “We’re keen to host events at St Mary’s that expand our audience and serve the needs of the wider community – providing a venue for Lancaster University’s outreach programme is enabling us to do just that. Our inaugural collaboration showed that there’s a genuine appetite for this type of event and we’re already planning more!”

The Kirkby Lonsdale event was part of FST’s desire to share its research with communities that haven’t previously hosted such sessions. By taking science beyond the university campus, FST hopes to make the research done in the Lancaster University labs more accessible and inclusive. More outreach events are planned in the coming months, as FST looks to expand its programme of community-based science communication and engagement