Mathematics and Statistics Colloquium

Alexandrian Scholars and Scottish Clergymen: Applied Mechanics Two Millennia Apart.

Milo Nikolic, Classics 

The Mouseion in Alexandria was an early centre for the study of, among other fields, mathematics and mechanics. Scholars in the Hellenistic and Roman periods engaged in the application of mechanical principles and devised small-scale mechanisms for their demonstration. These devices included mechanical birds, inexhaustible drinking vessels, self-propelled rotating spheres, and self-opening doors. The latter two employ principles that were put to industrial use only in the nineteenth century. This talk attempts an uneven comparison between the ancient and the modern.

About me: Milo Nikolic is interested in ancient technology. He is studying water-supply systems of the Greek and Roman periods.

Nikolic has been involved in archaeological projects in Canada, Italy, Türkiye, Jordan, and Germany. He has studied in Germany, England, France, and Canada. Although his terminal degree is a doctorate in Greek and Roman Studies, he is also trained as a mechanical engineer with a specialization in fluid mechanics and a physicist with a specialization in renewable energies. He has been working at Memorial University since 2009 after stints at the University of Victoria, Mount Allison, and the University of Winnipeg. Before finding his home in academia he used to work as a project manager in the wind-energy industry in Germany.

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Location: HH3017

Date and Time: Friday, Feb. 20 at 03:00 PM - 03:50 PM (NST)

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