The Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford
Encyclopedia
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
department at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It forms one of the ten departments of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Divisional Board in the University.
The Institute is located in multiple buildings, the main one was built in 1966 and is located at the northern end of St Giles' in central north Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. It also has an entrance on Blackhall Road to the east. The building of the institute was originally proposed by G.H. Hardy at least 30 years earlier. In 1934 Hardy was allocated six rooms in the new extension to the Radcliffe Science Library
Radcliffe Science Library
The Radcliffe Science Library is the main teaching and research science library at the University of Oxford, England.Being officially part of the Bodleian Library, although with a completely separate building, the library holds the Legal Deposit material for the sciences and is thus entitled to...
. The current building was designed by University surveyors office.
In addition, the Institute has two annexes, which are also located close to the centre of Oxford. Dartington House is situated on Little Clarendon Street
Little Clarendon Street
Little Clarendon Street is a short shopping street in north-west Oxford. It runs east-west between the south end of Woodstock Road opposite St Giles' Church to the east and Walton Street to the west...
, a short walk from the main building, and the Gibson Building is situated further north, on the site of the Radcliffe Infirmary
Radcliffe Infirmary
The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. The Radcliffe Infirmary, named after physician John Radcliffe, opened in 1770 and was Oxford's first hospital...
.
The Gibson building hosts the Numerical Analysis Group, OxPDE (The Oxford centre for nonlinear partial differential equations), and OCCAM (the Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics).
The Mathematical Institute includes both pure and applied mathematics (statistics is a separate department) and is one of the largest and most respected mathematics departments in the UK..
The institute houses a community of 120 mathematicians from postgraduate students to professors..
Oxford has a number of "statutory chairs" in both pure and applied mathematics.
The Savilian Professor of Geometry
Savilian Professor of Geometry
The position of Savilian Professor of Geometry was established at the University of Oxford in 1619. It was founded by Sir Henry Savile, a mathematician and classical scholar who was Warden of Merton College, Oxford and Provost of Eton College, reacting to what has been described as "the wretched...
is Nigel Hitchin
Nigel Hitchin
Nigel Hitchin is a British mathematician working in the fields of differential geometry, algebraic geometry, and mathematical physics.-Academic career:...
, FRS, the Wallis Professorship is held by Terry J. Lyons
Terry Lyons (mathematician)
Terence John Lyons is a British mathematician, specializing in stochastic analysis. His mathematical contributions have been to probability, to the numerical analysis of stochastic differential equations, and to quantitative finance. In particular he developed what is now known as the Theory of...
, FRS,
the Waynflete Professorship of Pure Mathematics
Waynflete Professorships
The Waynflete Professorships are four professorial fellowships at the University of Oxford endowed by Magdalen College and named in honour of the college founder William of Waynflete, who had a great interest in science...
is held by Raphaël Rouquier
Raphaël Rouquier
Raphaël Alexis Marcel Rouquier is a French mathematician and the Waynflete Professor of Pure Mathematics at the University of Oxford.- Education :Rouquier was born in Étampes, France....
, the Whitehead Professorship
of Pure Mathematics is held by Martin R. Bridson, and the Professorship of Pure Mathematics
is held by Roger Heath-Brown. The chairs in applied mathematics are: the Sedleian Professorship of Natural Philosophy is held by John M. Ball
John M. Ball
Sir John Macleod Ball, FRSE FRS is Sedleian Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He was the President of the International Mathematical Union from 2003-06 and a Fellow of Queen's College, Oxford...
, FRS, the Rouse Ball chair is held by P. Candelas, the Professorship of Mathematical Biology is held by Phil Maini, the Professorship of Numerical Analysis is held by Nick Trefethen
Lloyd Nicholas Trefethen
Lloyd Nicholas Trefethen FRS is professor of numerical analysis and head of the Numerical Analysis Group in the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford....
, the Professorship of Mathematics and Its Applications is held by Jon Chapman and the Professorship of Mathematical Modelling is held by Alain Goriely. Roger Penrose
Roger Penrose
Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS is an English mathematical physicist and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College...
is a prominent emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
member of the Institute. Sir Michael Atiyah
Michael Atiyah
Sir Michael Francis Atiyah, OM, FRS, FRSE is a British mathematician working in geometry.Atiyah grew up in Sudan and Egypt but spent most of his academic life in the United Kingdom at Oxford and Cambridge, and in the United States at the Institute for Advanced Study...
was another prominent member between 1961 and 1990. Furthermore, Professor Marcus du Sautoy
Marcus du Sautoy
Marcus Peter Francis du Sautoy OBE is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. Formerly a Fellow of All Souls College, and Wadham College, he is now a Fellow of New College...
is the current holder of the university's Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science
Simonyi Professorship for the Public Understanding of Science
The Simonyi Professorship for the Public Understanding of Science is a chair in the University of Oxford. The chair was established in 1995 for the ethologist Richard Dawkins by an endowment from Charles Simonyi....
.
Plans are underway for the Institute to move to new purpose designed premises next to the Radcliffe Infirmary
Radcliffe Infirmary
The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. The Radcliffe Infirmary, named after physician John Radcliffe, opened in 1770 and was Oxford's first hospital...
on Walton Street
Walton Street
Walton Street is on the eastern edge of the Jericho district of central Oxford, England.- Overview :The street runs north from the western end of Beaumont Street and northern end of Worcester Street by the main entrance of Worcester College. Somerville College, one of the former women's colleges,...
.
In 2007, the Institute joined five other UK University mathematics departments in forming the Taught Course Centre
Taught Course Centre
The Taught Course Centre or TCC is a collaboration between the mathematics departments at five UK universities aimed at providing a broader range of lecture courses for postgraduate students.-Members:The five collaborating universities are:...
, a collaborative project to allow maths lecturers at each of the five Universities to give lectures to students at each of the others using Access Grid
Access Grid
Access Grid is a collection of resources and technologies that enables large format audio and video based collaboration between groups of people in different locations. The Access Grid is an ensemble of resources, including multimedia large-format displays, presentation and interactive...
technology.