Sir Michael Atiyah (1929-2019)
Sir Michael Atiyah, founding Director of the Isaac Newton Institute in Cambridge, has died at the age of 89
One of the greatest mathematicians of his generation (and ‘probably Britain’s greatest mathematician since Isaac Newton’ according to Ian Stewart), Sir Michael was awarded countless prizes and medals, including the Fields Medal, which he was awarded in 1966.
Beyond his 1966 Fields Medal, he was also the joint recipient of the 2004 Abel Prize. Both were awarded for his work with Isadore Singer on the differential equation-related index theorem - which Atiyah ...
MWUK Newsletter No 4
Read our latest newsletter here.
Peter Goddard CBE FRS joins MWUK Advisory Panel
We are delighted to announce that Professor Peter Goddard CBE FRS has agreed to join the MWUK advisory panel.
Peter Goddard is an Emeritus Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton,having served as its Director from 2004 to 2012, and a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge. A mathematical physicist, he has made pioneering contributions to string theory and quantum field theory, which were recognized by the award in 1997 of the Dirac Medal of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, shared with David Olive.
Formerly Master of St. ...
Maths Miniatures 2018
A short film competition for schools and colleges across the UK
Over the summer term talented young mathematicians and film makers across England and Wales accepted the challenge to make a film about mathematics in the natural world. The competition, organized collaboratively through MathsWorldUK, UK Mathematics Trust, and the University of Leeds, required students from 11-18 years of age to work in teams to produce a 3 minute video communicating a feature in the natural world and the mathematics behind it.
There was an exciting range of topics from epidemiology to ...
Cambridge Mathematician is Awarded One of Four 2018 Fields Medals
Professor Caucher Birkar, from the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics at the University of Cambridge is one of four recipients of the 2018 Fields Medals. He was awarded the prize for his work on on categorising different kinds of polynomial equations.
Professor Birkar came to this country as a political asylum seeker from a Kurdish province in Iran. He completed his PhD at the University of Nottingham in 2004.
The Fields Medal is like the 'Nobel Prize’ of mathematics and is awarded every four years. Professor Birkar was given the award at ...
A message from our new CEO
Hello MathsWorldUK supporters,
I’m very pleased to be given the opportunity to lead MathsWorldUK. A real interactive mathematics museum is exactly what the UK needs. I’m eager to show the many faces of maths to the public and eager to see the public get stuck into mathematics games, magic, challenges, history and fun.
We know we have a skills gap in mathematics in the UK as well as a cultural misunderstanding of the nature of the subject. A physical exploration space is one way we can tackle the misconceptions surrounding our subject. The museum will bring ...
MathsWorldUK appoints its first Chief Executive Officer
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Katie Chicot as Chief Executive Officer of MathsWorldUK. The appointment is for one year in the first instance, but we hope it will be extended into many future years. Currently, Katie is STEM Staff Tutor and Senior Lecturer at The Open University. She will take up her post on 4th June 2018. In the first year in post Katie will be on secondment from the Open University, so there will be an ongoing link between the OU and MWUK. Katie was appointed from a strong field of applicants. We are all looking forward to working with ...
British Girl Shares Gold Medal in European Girls Mathematical Olympiad
The 2018 European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad has just taken place in Florence. Emily Beatty, the British team's best performer, achieved a perfect score of 42 out of 42, and shared the Gold Medal for first prize. Overall, the British team finished in third place out of 52 countries. The United Kingdom Mathematics Trust together with the investment firm Man AHL, which sponsors the UK team, issued a press release, an extract of which can be viewed here.
MWUK Special Appeal
A benefactor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has promised to donate £125000 to MathsWorldUK, provided we can match fund this pound-for-pound within a year of this donation. We need to raise at least a further £125000 within the coming year to match this offer. The money raised will be used to kick-start a touring exhibition devoted entirely to mathematics and to applications of mathematics. We anticipate the overall research, development and construction of the exhibition will eventually cost upwards of £700000. We hope that it will be possible to get the exhibition up and running by the end of 2021, but this will depend on the generosity of all those willing to donate to this appeal. We appeal to individuals, industrial and commercial organizations, philanthropic foundations, and other interested parties to make donations for this development.
MWUK Newsletter #3
Our third newsletter is now available to view and download right here!