Ben Green, Waynflete Professor of Pure Mathematics in Oxford, will receive the inaugural I. Martin Isaacs Prize for Excellence in Mathematical Writing for his article “On Sárközy’s theorem for shifted primes,” published in Journal of the American Mathematical Society in 2024.
The citation reads: "Green successfully balances serving different audiences. Experts can readily extract the key ideas from his paper, while beginners can appreciate the motivation and context for the techniques. Those who wish to check the details will find every detail made available to them, while those who are trying to understand the big picture will also find what they need. Green’s paper is a joy to read, and his effort and skill in writing are a model of how to communicate technically forbidding mathematics."
Ben says: "I am very happy to be awarded this prize, as writing is something I have always taken quite seriously. I am particularly pleased that the prize is associated with I. Martin Isaacs, whose famous book on character theory I have owned and enjoyed looking at since I was an undergraduate. Although the cited paper is single-author, I have learned a great deal about how to write mathematics from several collaborators over many years. Let me mention in particular Terence Tao, with whom I have written over 30 joint papers and who taught me much about how to structure an argument; my first co-author, Imre Ruzsa, who writes with exceptional clarity and elegance; and my PhD supervisor, Timothy Gowers, whose papers are always a pleasure to read."
Ben Green was born and grew up in Bristol, England, attending local schools there. His undergraduate and graduate education was at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a PhD in 2003, supervised by Timothy Gowers. He was a Junior Research Fellow at Trinity, a Clay Research Fellow, and a PIMS Postdoctoral Fellow before returning to Cambridge as the first Herchel Smith Professor of Pure Mathematics in 2006. He moved to Oxford in 2013, where he is the Waynflete Professor of Pure Mathematics and a Fellow of Magdalen College. He is married and has two sons aged 8 and 6.
The I. Martin Isaacs Prize is awarded annually for excellence in writing of a research article published in a primary journal of the AMS in the past two years.
The prize will be presented at the 2025 Joint Mathematics Meetings in Seattle. Thank you to the AMS for allowing us to use their article.
When you've got the world's largest and smelliest flower you want to know why it is so large and why it is so smelly. A huge and pungent story of Oxford scientific collaboration starring botanist Chris Thorogood and mathematician Javier Chico Vazquez.
Rafflesia or Stinking Corpse Lily is a flowering plant of South-East Asia. Its flowers are the largest in the world and its is scent described by Chris as reminiscent of rotting meat (the hint is in its alternate name). However, because it is impossible to grow Rafflesia outside its remote habitats, Chris has enlisted mathematics to understand better the plant's size and structure.
Watch Chris and Javier describe how they worked together and how collaboration works across disciplines across Oxford.
Professor Dominic Joyce has been appointed Savilian Professor of Geometry here in Oxford.
Dominic will be the 21st holder of the Savilian Chair. Established in 1619 by Sir Henry Savile, it has been held by many top mathematicians - including John Wallis (who introduced the ∞∞ notation), Edmond Halley (after whom Halley's comet is named), Edward Titchmarsh, and Sir Michael Atiyah.
Dominic Joyce FRS has been at Oxford for many years, doing his BA and DPhil at Merton College, followed by a Junior Research Fellowship at Christ Church College, and a University Lectureship in Pure Mathematics and Tutorial Fellowship at Lincoln College, before moving to a professorial post in the Mathematical Institute in 2006. His research spans a broad range of topics in Differential Geometry, Algebraic Geometry, and Symplectic Geometry. He lives in North Oxford with his wife, three daughters, and a cat called Honey.
If you ever want to get a mathematician's attention, however busy they are, check if they have some mathematical toys lurking on their shelf, glance that way and they are all yours. In the first episode of Toy Stories:
Jon Chapman and Sam Howison - You spin me right round
Today, October 14th, 8.59am, Andrew Wiles Building, Oxford Mathematics. It may have been raining for 40 days and 40 nights, but it's our favourite day of the year, the first day of a new academic year.
So here are our students arriving for lectures, accompanied by the soundtrack of first year students talking about their first three lectures which they attended this morning: Geometry, Analysis 1 and Computational Mathematics. These three courses are accompanied by five others over the course of the eight-week term: Introduction to University Mathematics, Introductory Calculus, Introduction to Complex Numbers, Linear Algebra 1 and Probability.
Are numbers essential for counting? Probably, in a world where we don’t just want to know if something is good, but exactly how good. But it wasn’t always the case.
In this clip from his Vicky Neale Public Lecture, Tim Harford demonstrates that earlier cultures used alternate ways to keep track.
The Inaugural Vicky Neale Public Lecture was given by economist and broadcaster Tim Harford in recognition of the invaluable contribution to mathematical education of the late Vicky Neale. In the lecture, Tim looks at how data built the modern world - and how we can use it to build a better one.
So what do you fancy today? Carrollian holograms? The Möbius function? Software to tackle pollution? Additive versus multiplicative structure over integers? A celebration of the many people who have used maths in their everyday lives?
We can do all that and more. We've 100s of case studies online: pure, applied and all things combined. Just click here.
Image: mathematical methods reveal complex cell patterns in high-resolution kidney data from the Topology and medicine combine to tackle kidney disease case study.
Philip Maini has been awarded the Sylvester Medal by the Royal Society for his contributions to mathematical biology, especially the interdisciplinary modelling of biomedical phenomena and systems.
Philip's research uses mathematical modelling to gain insights into biology and medicine. It focuses mainly on pattern formation in early development, cell movement in wound healing, and the dynamics of cancer growth. It consists of developing mathematical models, which range from coupled systems of partial differential equations to multi-scale hybrid agent-based models, analysing them and using their results to advance our understanding of the biomedical sciences. Philip also take great pleasure in training the next generation of researchers in this field, and over 40 of the graduate students and postdocs he has (co-)supervised now have permanent faculty positions in mathematical biology in universities worldwide.
He says of the award: "Receiving this prize is a truly humbling experience when I look at past winners. It is recognition of the important role that mathematical biology is now playing both in mathematics and in the life sciences. I would like to thank my mentor J.D. Murray for introducing me to this field and for all his help and support throughout my career. I have been very lucky to have worked with so many talented colleagues, graduate students and early career researchers."
Philip's student lectures and other films are extremely popular on YouTube and social media with over 20 million views.
The Sylvester Medal is awarded for outstanding contributions in the field of mathematics. The medal is accompanied by a gift of £2,000.
When Terry Tao speaks the mathematical world listens.
Last month Terry gave the Oxford Mathematics London Public Lecture at the Science Museum, revealing his thoughts on the potential of Artificial Intelligence for science and mathematics before joining fellow mathematician Po-Shen Lo for a fireside chat.
What does he think? Well, he certainly sees a future where mathematics is embracing and benefiting from AI. It might even bring more mathematicians in to the subject, some of them not even professionals.
Find out more by watching the lecture from 5pm BST on Wednesday 7th August onwards.
Ever since we were first surrounded by the mathematically-inspired art of Conrad Shawcross in multiple locations across our building, we have wondered what we would do when they had to leave us. The works seemed not so much to blend in as to enhance the building, from the tetrahedral uncertainties of the Paradigms to the dazzling colour and light of the Beacons. Moreover, they have captured the imagination of our mathematicians. They recognise the art. They also recognise the mathematics.
So we are delighted that thanks to the generosity of exhibition supporter XTX Markets, curator Fatoş Üstek and, of course, Conrad himself, the show, featuring over 40 works, will be living with us for another year. We encourage you all to come and see it. Some of the works are in the public areas, some in the private, mingling with the mathematicians whose ideas inspired the artist. If you wish to have a full tour please e-mail @email.
