Faculty of Mathematics, University of Cambridge
Encyclopedia
The Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge
comprises the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS) and the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP). It is housed in the Centre for Mathematical Sciences
site in West Cambridge
, alongside the Isaac Newton Institute
. Many distinguished mathematicians have been members of the faculty.
. It was housed in a converted warehouse at 16 Mill Lane, adjacent to its sister department DAMTP, until its move around 2000 to the present Centre for Mathematical Sciences
where it occupies Pavilions C, D, and E.
.
The Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) was founded by George Batchelor
in 1959, and for many years was situated on Silver Street, in the former office buildings of Cambridge University Press
. Currently, the Department is located at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences (Cambridge)
. Theoretical Physics (including cosmology
, relativity
, and high energy physics) occupies most of Pavilion B, while Applied Mathematics (including fluid dynamics
and solid mechanics
) occupies most of Pavilions F, G, and H.
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
comprises the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS) and the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP). It is housed in the Centre for Mathematical Sciences
Centre for Mathematical Sciences (Cambridge)
The Centre for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge houses the university's Faculty of Mathematics, the Isaac Newton Institute, and the Betty and Gordon Moore Library. It is situated on Wilberforce Road, formerly a St...
site in West Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, alongside the Isaac Newton Institute
Isaac Newton Institute
The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences is an international research institute for mathematics and theoretical physics. Part of the University of Cambridge, it is named after one of the university's most illustrious figures, the mathematician and natural philosopher Sir Isaac Newton....
. Many distinguished mathematicians have been members of the faculty.
Some current members
- Stephen HawkingStephen HawkingStephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity...
- Michael GreenMichael Green (physicist)Michael Boris Green FRS is a British physicist and one of the pioneers of string theory. Currently a professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics and a Fellow in Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge in England, he succeeded Stephen Hawking on 1 November 2009...
- Malcolm PerryMalcolm Perry (physicist)Malcolm John Perry, is a theoretical physicist. Perry is a professor of theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge. His research mainly concerns general relativity, supergravity and string theory....
- Gary GibbonsGary GibbonsGary William Gibbons , FRS, is a British theoretical physicist. Gibbons studied in Cambridge,where in 1969 he became a research student under the supervision of Dennis Sciama. When Sciama moved to Oxford, he became a student of Stephen Hawking, obtaining his PhD from Cambridge in 1973...
- Paul TownsendPaul TownsendPaul Kingsley Townsend FRS is a British physicist, currently a Professor of Theoretical Physics in Cambridge University's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. He is notable for his work on string theory....
- John BarrowJohn D. Barrow-External links:****** The Forum-Publications available on the Internet:************...
- John PapaloizouJohn PapaloizouJohn Christopher Baillie Papaloizou is a British theoretical physicist. Papaloizou is a professor at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge. He works on the theory of accretion disks, with particular application to the formation of planets. He...
- Alan Baker
- Timothy Gowers
- Frank KellyFrank Kelly (professor)Francis Patrick "Frank" Kelly, FRS is professor of the Mathematics of Systems in the Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge, and Master of Christ's College, Cambridge....
- Imre LeaderImre LeaderImre Bennett Leader is a British mathematician and Professor of Pure Mathematics, specifically combinatorics, at the University of Cambridge....
- John Coates
- Peter JohnstonePeter Johnstone (mathematician)Peter Tennant Johnstone is Professor of the Foundations of Mathematics at St. John's College, Cambridge. He invented or developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in topos theory.-Books by Peter Johnstone:. –-External links:...
- Ben Green
- Béla BollobásBéla BollobásBéla Bollobás FRS is a Hungarian-born British mathematician who has worked in various areas of mathematics, including functional analysis, combinatorics, graph theory and percolation. As a student, he took part in the first three International Mathematical Olympiads, winning two gold medals...
Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics
The Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS) was created in 1964 under the headship of Sir William HodgeW. V. D. Hodge
William Vallance Douglas Hodge FRS was a Scottish mathematician, specifically a geometer.His discovery of far-reaching topological relations between algebraic geometry and differential geometry—an area now called Hodge theory and pertaining more generally to Kähler manifolds—has been a major...
. It was housed in a converted warehouse at 16 Mill Lane, adjacent to its sister department DAMTP, until its move around 2000 to the present Centre for Mathematical Sciences
Centre for Mathematical Sciences (Cambridge)
The Centre for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge houses the university's Faculty of Mathematics, the Isaac Newton Institute, and the Betty and Gordon Moore Library. It is situated on Wilberforce Road, formerly a St...
where it occupies Pavilions C, D, and E.
Heads of department
- 1964–1969 W. V. D. HodgeW. V. D. HodgeWilliam Vallance Douglas Hodge FRS was a Scottish mathematician, specifically a geometer.His discovery of far-reaching topological relations between algebraic geometry and differential geometry—an area now called Hodge theory and pertaining more generally to Kähler manifolds—has been a major...
- 1969–1984 J. W. S. CasselsJ. W. S. CasselsJohn William Scott Cassels , FRS is a leading English mathematician.-Biography:Educated at Neville's Cross Council School in Durham and George Heriot's School in Edinburgh, Cassels graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an MA in 1943.His academic career was interrupted in World War II...
- 1984–1991 D. J. H. Garling
- 1991–1997 John H. Coates
- 1997–2002 W. B. R. Lickorish
- 2002–2007 Geoffrey GrimmettGeoffrey GrimmettGeoffrey Richard Grimmett is a mathematician working in probability theory. He is the Professor of Mathematical Statistics in the Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge....
- 2007– Martin HylandMartin HylandJohn Martin Elliott Hyland is professor of mathematics at King's College in the University of Cambridge, England where he is currently head of the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics...
Statistical Laboratory
The Statistical Laboratory is a Sub-Department of DPMMS. It was created in 1947 with accommodation in a "temporary hut", and was established on 21 March 1953 within the Faculty of Mathematics. It moved in 1958 to the basement of the new Chemistry Department in Lensfield Road, and then formed part of the new Department (DPMMS) in Mill Lane on its creation in 1964. It occupies Pavilion D of the Centre for Mathematical SciencesCentre for Mathematical Sciences (Cambridge)
The Centre for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge houses the university's Faculty of Mathematics, the Isaac Newton Institute, and the Betty and Gordon Moore Library. It is situated on Wilberforce Road, formerly a St...
.
Directors of the Statistical Laboratory
- 1953–1956 John WishartJohn Wishart (statistician)John Wishart was a Scottish mathematician and agricultural statistician.He worked successively at University College London with Karl Pearson, at Rothamsted Experimental Station with Ronald Fisher, and then as a reader in statistics in the University of Cambridge where he became the first...
- 1956–1957 Henry DanielsHenry DanielsHenry Ellis Daniels FRS was a British statistician. He was President of the Royal Statistical Society , and was awarded its Guy Medal in Gold in 1984, following a Silver medal in 1947. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1980...
, Acting Director - 1957–1960 Dennis LindleyDennis LindleyDennis Victor Lindley is a British statistician, decision theorist and leading advocate of Bayesian statistics.Dennis Lindley grew up in the south-west London suburb of Surbiton. He was an only child and his father was a local building contractor...
- 1960–1962 Morris Walker, Acting Director
- 1962–1973 David KendallDavid George KendallDavid George Kendall FRS was an English statistician, who spent much of his academic life in the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. He worked with M. S...
- 1973–1987 Peter WhittlePeter WhittlePeter Whittle is a mathematician and statistician, working in the fields of stochastic nets, optimal control, time series analysis, stochastic optimization and stochastic dynamics...
- 1987–1991 David WilliamsDavid Williams (mathematician)David Williams is a Welsh mathematician who works in probability theory.He was educated at Gowerton Grammar School, winning a mathematics scholarship to Jesus College, Oxford, and went on to obtain a DPhil under the supervision of D. G. Kendall and G. E. H...
- 1991–1993 Frank KellyFrank Kelly (professor)Francis Patrick "Frank" Kelly, FRS is professor of the Mathematics of Systems in the Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge, and Master of Christ's College, Cambridge....
- 1994–2000 Geoffrey GrimmettGeoffrey GrimmettGeoffrey Richard Grimmett is a mathematician working in probability theory. He is the Professor of Mathematical Statistics in the Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge....
- 2000–2009 Richard WeberRichard R. WeberRichard Robert Weber is a mathematician working in operational research. He is Churchill Professor of Mathematics for Operational Research in the Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge....
- 2009– James NorrisJames R. NorrisJames Ritchie Norris is a mathematician working in probability theory and stochastic analysis. He is the Professor of Stochastic Analysis in the Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge....
Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
George Batchelor
George Keith Batchelor FRS was an Australian applied mathematician and fluid dynamicist. He was for many years the Professor of Applied Mathematics in the University of Cambridge, and was founding head of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics...
in 1959, and for many years was situated on Silver Street, in the former office buildings of Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
. Currently, the Department is located at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences (Cambridge)
Centre for Mathematical Sciences (Cambridge)
The Centre for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge houses the university's Faculty of Mathematics, the Isaac Newton Institute, and the Betty and Gordon Moore Library. It is situated on Wilberforce Road, formerly a St...
. Theoretical Physics (including cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
, relativity
Theory of relativity
The theory of relativity, or simply relativity, encompasses two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity. However, the word relativity is sometimes used in reference to Galilean invariance....
, and high energy physics) occupies most of Pavilion B, while Applied Mathematics (including fluid dynamics
Fluid dynamics
In physics, fluid dynamics is a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flow—the natural science of fluids in motion. It has several subdisciplines itself, including aerodynamics and hydrodynamics...
and solid mechanics
Solid mechanics
Solid mechanics is the branch of mechanics, physics, and mathematics that concerns the behavior of solid matter under external actions . It is part of a broader study known as continuum mechanics. One of the most common practical applications of solid mechanics is the Euler-Bernoulli beam equation...
) occupies most of Pavilions F, G, and H.
Heads of department
- 1959–1983 George BatchelorGeorge BatchelorGeorge Keith Batchelor FRS was an Australian applied mathematician and fluid dynamicist. He was for many years the Professor of Applied Mathematics in the University of Cambridge, and was founding head of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics...
- 1983–1991 Keith MoffattKeith MoffattHenry Keith Moffatt FRS FRSE is a Scottish applied mathematician with principal research interests in the field of fluid dynamics.-Research:...
- 1991–2000 David CrightonDavid CrightonDavid George Crighton FRS was a British mathematician and physicist.- Life :...
- 2000–2005 Timothy J. Pedley
- 2005– Peter Haynes
See also
- Mathematical Tripos
- Wrangler (University of Cambridge)
- List of Cambridge mathematicians
- Chairs associated with the Faculty:
- Lucasian Professor of Mathematics
- Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and GeometryLowndean Professor of Astronomy and GeometryThe Lowndean chair of Astronomy and Geometry is one of the two major Professorships in Astronomy at Cambridge University, alongside the Plumian Professorship...
- Rouse Ball Professor of MathematicsRouse Ball Professor of MathematicsThe Rouse Ball Professorship of Mathematics is one of the senior chairs in the Mathematics Departments at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. The two positions were founded in 1927 by a bequest from the mathematician W. W. Rouse Ball...
- Sadleirian Professor of Pure Mathematics
- Herchel Smith Professorship of Pure MathematicsHerchel Smith Professorship of Pure MathematicsThe Herchel Smith Professorship of Pure Mathematics is a professorship in pure mathematics at the University of Cambridge. It was established in 2004 by a benefaction from Herchel Smith "of £14.315m, to be divided into five equal parts, to support the full endowment of five Professorships in the...
- Professorship of Mathematical StatisticsProfessorship of Mathematical Statistics, University of CambridgeThe Professorship of Mathematical Statistics at the University of Cambridge was established in 1961 with the support of the Royal Statistical Society and the aid of donations from various companies and banks. It was the first professorship in the Statistical Laboratory, and the first in Cambridge...
- Churchill Professorship of Mathematics for Operational ResearchChurchill Professorship of Mathematics for Operational ResearchThe Churchill Professorship of Mathematics for Operational Research is a professorship in operational research at the University of Cambridge. It was established in 1966 by a benefaction from Esso in memory of Sir Winston Churchill, who died the previous year...
- Professorship of Statistical ScienceProfessorship of Statistical Science, University of CambridgeThe Professorship of Statistical Science is a professorship at the University of Cambridge. It was established in 1994 as the third professorship within the Cambridge Statistical Laboratory.- List of Professors of Statistical Science :...
- Winton Professorship of the Public Understanding of RiskWinton Professorship of the Public Understanding of RiskThe Winton Professorship of the Public Understanding of Risk is a professorship within the Statistical Laboratory of the University of Cambridge. It was established in 2007 in perpetuity by a benefaction of £3.3m from the Winton Charitable Foundation, and is the only professorship of its type in...