Mathematical Institute Bulletin

The King has approved the appointment of James Maynard as the new Regius Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. He will take up the post on 1 October 2026, and will also be a professorial fellow of Merton College.

This chair is one of three Regius Professorships of Mathematics in the United Kingdom, the others being at St Andrews and Warwick. The Oxford Regius chair was created in 2016 as part of the 90th birthday celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II. James will succeed the inaugural postholder, Andrew Wiles.

Former MSc in Mathematical Modelling and Scientific Computing student, Jad was presented with the Hansjörg Wacker Memorial Prize at the recent European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry (ECMI) 2026 conference. 

The prize is awarded approximately every two years for the best mathematical dissertation at masters level on an industrial project submitted at an ECMI institution. Jad's dissertation project on "NCDEs – A state-of-the-art prediction model over irregular time series" was proposed by F. Hoffman - La Roche, and supervised by Terry Lyons and Elena Gal.

'Prime number', spoken in nine different tongues, kicks off the latest episode of 'the Tower of Babel'. It's followed by Luci Bonatto discussing her mathematical upbringing in Brazil and its influence on how she thinks and teaches in Oxford.

He's back. Our number 1 influencer. And he's not holding back. From chasing a ball, to insect flight, control theory and unpredictable stock markets, all in two minutes. Also featuring Sam Howison.

From 1 August 2026, the University's dedicated Careers Service provision for research staff will no longer be available, as the funding for this service is ending.

This means research staff will no longer be able to access one-to-one careers advice appointments, Careers events, CareerConnect, dedicated careers newsletters, or talks and workshops delivered exclusively for research staff. Research staff are encouraged to make use of these services before 31 July 2026. Postgraduate students are not affected by this change.

Image: Marguerite Gerard - Bad News

The Academy for the Mathematical Sciences 2026 call for fellows is open. The closing date for applications is Monday 14 September 2026 at 23:59 (UK time).

Further information for applicants and sponsors, including details about the role of Fellows and the application process, can be found in the 2026 Fellowship Application Pack. Photo of 2025 fellows below.

Kellogg College has approached us about a potential teaching opportunity in Oxford for a Chinese based organisation, a regular client of theirs. Full details via the contact below but in summary:

High school students aged 15; c3 hours teaching; 19 July and 4 August; 'an interactive, engaging talk that links mathematical methods to real-world scenarios'; c£200 per hour depending on experience.

Contact Victoria: @email

In 1920, playwright Karel Čapek imagined a world of A.I. and rebellion, inspiring and influencing a century of sci-fi cinema. 100 years later, Headlong reawakens his visionary play R.U.R. as ROBOTA – high-voltage theatre for the age of artificial intelligence.

ROBOTA runs at the Schwarzman Centre from the 3-18 July. There is a special £10 ticket offer for all staff and students.

Find out more and book

There are songs that change your taste in music, especially when you are young and don't know what you like. They may not be great songs, but they do something. In your Song of the Week editor's teenage years, hearing this one lunchtime from an older boy's low-fi stereo made him realise that he didn't need to listen to Pink Floyd any longer.