View source for Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford

{{Short description|Department of mathematics in University of Oxford}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{third-party|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox laboratory
| name = Mathematical Institute
| image = [[File:The Mathematical Institute at Oxford University.jpg|200px|centre]]
| caption = The [[Andrew Wiles]] Building, home of the Mathematical Institute at the [[University of Oxford]] and featuring the [[Penrose tiling]] at its entrance, completed in 2013.
| alt= Refer to caption
| coordinates = {{coord |51.7606|-1.2629|type:edu_region:GB-OXF|display=inline,title}}
| location_map  = Oxford (central)
| head_label        = Head of Department
| head              = James Sparks<ref name=":0" />
| students          = 1,400<ref name=":0" />
| established      = {{start date and age|1966|df=y}}
| city              = [[Woodstock Road (Oxford)|Woodstock Road]], [[Oxford]]
|postalcode = OX2 6GG
| operating_agency  = [[University of Oxford]]
|website={{URL|https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/}}
}}

The '''Mathematical Institute''' is the [[mathematics]] department at the [[University of Oxford]] in England. It is one of the nine departments of the university's [[Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division, University of Oxford|Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Departments — Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division |url=https://www.mpls.ox.ac.uk/departments |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=mpls.ox.ac.uk}}</ref> The institute includes both pure and applied mathematics (Statistics is a separate department) and is one of the largest mathematics departments in the [[United Kingdom]] with about 200 academic staff.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=About Us {{!}} Mathematical Institute |url=https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/about-us |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=maths.ox.ac.uk}}</ref> It was ranked (in a joint submission with Statistics) as the top mathematics department in the UK in the 2021 [[Research Excellence Framework]].<ref name="ref2021" /> Research at the Mathematical Institute covers all branches of mathematical sciences ranging from, for example, algebra, number theory, and geometry to the application of mathematics to a wide range of fields including industry, finance, networks, and the brain. It has more than 850 undergraduates and 550 [[Doctorate|doctoral]] or [[Master's degree|masters]] students.<ref name=":0" /> The institute inhabits a purpose-built building between [[Somerville College, Oxford|Somerville College]] and [[Green Templeton College, Oxford|Green Templeton College]] on [[Woodstock Road, Oxford|Woodstock Road]], next to the [[Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford|Faculty of Philosophy]].

==History==
[[File:Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford.jpg|thumb|Former Mathematical Institute building, built in 1966.]]
The earliest forerunner of the Mathematical Institute was the School of Geometry and Arithmetic in the [[Bodleian Library]]'s main quadrangle. This was completed in 1620.{{sfn|Woodhouse|2014|p=1}}

Notable mathematicians associated with the university include [[Christopher Wren]] who, before his notable career as an architect, made contributions in analytical mathematics, astronomy, and mathematical physics;{{sfn|Chapman|2013a}} [[Edmond Halley]] who published a series of profound papers on astronomy while [[Savilian Professor of Geometry]] in the early 18th century;{{sfn|Chapman|2013b}} [[John Wallis]], whose innovations include using the symbol <math>\infty</math> for [[infinity]];{{sfn|Flood|Fauvel|2013}} [[Lewis Carroll|Charles Dodgson]], who made significant contributions to geometry and logic while also achieving fame as a children's author under his pen name Lewis Carroll;{{sfn|Wilson|2013}} and [[Henry John Stephen Smith]], another Savilian Professor of Geometry, whose work in [[number theory]] and [[Matrix (mathematics)|matrices]] attracted international recognition to Oxford mathematics.{{sfn|Hannabuss|2013a|p=239}} Dodgson jokingly proposed that the university should grant its mathematicians a narrow strip of level ground, reaching "ever so far", so that they could test whether or not [[Parallel (geometry)|parallel lines]] ever meet.{{sfn|Woodhouse|2014|p=1}}

The building of an institute was originally proposed by [[G. H. Hardy]] in 1930. Lectures were normally given in the individual [[Colleges of the University of Oxford|colleges of the university]] and Hardy proposed a central space where mathematics lectures could be held and where mathematicians could regularly meet.{{sfn|Woodhouse|2014|p=1}} This proposal was too ambitious for the university, who allocated just six rooms for mathematicians in an extension to the [[Radcliffe Science Library]] built in 1934.{{sfn|Woodhouse|2014|p=2}} A dedicated Mathematical Institute was built in 1966 and was located at the northern end of [[St Giles' Street, Oxford|St Giles']] near the junction with [[Banbury Road]] in central north [[Oxford]].{{sfn|Woodhouse|2014|p=2}} The needs of the institute soon outgrew its building, so it also occupied a neighbouring house on St Giles and two annexes: Dartington House on [[Little Clarendon Street]], and the Gibson Building on the site of the [[Radcliffe Infirmary]].<ref>[http://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/about-us About], Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, UK.</ref>{{sfn|Woodhouse|2014|p=2}}

In 2008 the institute was given US$25 million — the largest grant ever for a mathematics department in the UK — to establish the Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics (OCCAM).<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 April 2008 |title=KAUST Global Research Partnership Center Grant {{!}} Mathematical Institute |url=https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/530 |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=maths.ox.ac.uk}}</ref>{{sfn|Neumann|2013|p=351}} Since 2013 the institute has been housed in the purpose-built [[Andrew Wiles]] Building in the [[Radcliffe Observatory Quarter]] in [[North Oxford]], near the original Radcliffe Infirmary. Wiles, the university's Regius Professor of Mathematics, is known for proving [[Fermat's Last Theorem]].{{sfn|Woodhouse|2014|p=15}} The design and construction of the building was informed by the academic staff to incorporate mathematical ideas; [[Roger Penrose|Sir Roger Penrose]] designed a non-periodic pattern (a [[Penrose tiling]]) to decorate the ground at the entrance, and two structures where natural light enters the building have "crystals" illustrating concepts from [[graph theory]] and the vibration of a two-dimensional surface.{{sfn|Woodhouse|2014|p=15}}

== Research ==
The institute is home to a number of research groups and funded research centres. Groups in [[mathematical logic]], [[algebra]], [[number theory]], [[numerical analysis]], [[geometry]], [[topology]], and [[mathematical physics]] date back to at least the 1960s.{{sfn|Neumann|2013|p=344}} More recent groups include a [[combinatorics]] group, the Wolfson Centre for Mathematical Biology (WCMB), the Oxford Centre for Industrial Applied Mathematics (OCIAM) which includes a centre studying [[Derivative (finance)|financial derivatives]], and the Oxford Centre for [[Nonlinear partial differential equation|Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations]] (OxPDE).{{sfn|Neumann|2013|p=346–351}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to the WCMB website {{!}} Mathematical Institute |url=https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/groups/mathematical-biology |access-date=2022-09-30 |website=maths.ox.ac.uk}}</ref> In the 21st century, the institute's research topics have come to include [[quantum computing]], [[Neoplasm|tumour]] growth, and [[string theory]], among other physical, biological, and economic problems.{{sfn|Neumann|2013|p=350–352}} In 2012 the office of the President of the [[Clay Mathematics Institute|Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI)]] moved to the Mathematical Institute as [[Nick Woodhouse]] became CMI's president. The CMI offers the [[Millennium Prize Problems|Millennium Prizes]] of one million dollars for solving famous mathematical problems that were unsolved in 2000.{{sfn|Neumann|2013|p=351–2}} The current CMI president, [[Martin Bridson]], is also based at the institute.<ref name=whoswho>{{Who's Who | title=Bridson, Prof. Martin Robert | id = U250830 |doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.250830|author=Anon | year = 2017 | edition = online [[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref>

Like other university departments in the UK, the institute has been rated for the quality and impact of its research. In the 2008 [[Research Assessment Exercise]], Oxford was joint first (with the [[University of Cambridge]]) for applied mathematics<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-12-18 |title=RAE 2008: applied mathematics results |url=http://www.theguardian.com/education/table/2008/dec/18/rae-2008-applied-mathematics |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> and third for pure mathematics.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-12-18 |title=RAE 2008: pure mathematics |url=http://www.theguardian.com/education/table/2008/dec/18/rae-2008-pure-mathematics |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> In the 2014 [[Research Excellence Framework]], the institute submitted jointly with the Department of Statistics, getting the highest placement for mathematical sciences in the UK.<ref name=":1">{{cite news|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/sites/default/files/Attachments/2014/12/17/g/o/l/sub-14-01.pdf |title=Research Excellence Framework 2014 ranking|work=Times Higher Education|date=18 December 2014|access-date=2022-06-27}}</ref> In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, Oxford maintained its top place.<ref name="ref2021">{{Cite web |date=2022-05-12 |title=REF 2021: Mathematical sciences |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ref-2021-mathematical-sciences |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=Times Higher Education (THE) |language=en}}</ref>

== Teaching ==
The institute has more than 850 undergraduate students on four degree courses: Mathematics, Mathematics and Statistics, Mathematics and Philosophy, and Mathematics and Computer Science.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} Mathematical Institute |url=https://courses.maths.ox.ac.uk/ |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=courses.maths.ox.ac.uk}}</ref> Students decide during their degree whether to earn a [[Bachelor of Arts#United Kingdom and Ireland|Bachelor of Arts (BA)]] after three years or to continue to a fourth year to earn a [[Master of Mathematics|Master of Mathematics (MMath)]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prospectus {{!}} Mathematical Institute |url=https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/study-here/undergraduate-study/prospectus |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=maths.ox.ac.uk}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> In 2017, the time allowed for exams was increased from 90 to 105 minutes for each paper for all students, with one motivation being to improve women's scores and close the gender performance gap.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Beauchamp |first=Sarah |title=Oxford Is Giving Students Extra Time For Exams (But Female Students Especially) |language=en |work=Bustle |url=https://www.bustle.com/p/oxford-is-giving-students-extra-time-for-exams-but-female-students-especially-7976512 |access-date=2018-01-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Diver |first=Tony |date=2018 |title=Oxford University extends exam times for women's benefit |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/01/22/oxford-university-gives-women-time-pass-exams/ |access-date=2018-01-23 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> The 550 postgraduate students take one of five courses to earn a [[Master of Science|Master of Science (MSc)]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=MSc Courses {{!}} Mathematical Institute |url=https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/study-here/postgraduate-study/msc-courses |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=maths.ox.ac.uk}}</ref> or conduct research to earn a DPhil (the Oxford name for a [[Doctor of Philosophy]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) {{!}} Mathematical Institute |url=https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/study-here/postgraduate-study/doctor-philosophy-dphil |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=maths.ox.ac.uk}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

''[[The Guardian]]''<nowiki/>'s 2021 ranking of "Best UK universities for mathematics" placed Oxford at the top.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best UK universities for mathematics – league table |url=http://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2020/sep/05/best-uk-universities-for-mathematics-league-table |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=the Guardian |date=5 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref>{{POV statement|Single ranking cited|date=March 2023}}

== Outreach ==
[[File:Roger Penrose 9524.JPG|thumb|Sir [[Roger Penrose]] is an [[emeritus]] professor at the institute.]]
The institute promotes understanding of mathematics outside the university by running public lectures, by hosting events for school students, and by supporting staff members who promote mathematics to the general public.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures and Events |url=https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/events/public-lectures-events |access-date=2022-09-30 |website=maths.ox.ac.uk}}</ref>{{Sfn|Neumann|2013|p=353}} Of those staff members, the best known are Sir [[Roger Penrose]], [[David Acheson (mathematician)|David Acheson]], and [[Marcus du Sautoy]]. Penrose, a former [[Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics]] who has an [[emeritus]] post at the institute, has written a series of popular books on mathematics and physics. Acheson has reached a wide audience through publishing, radio, and [[YouTube]]. Du Sautoy is the current [[Simonyi Professorship for the Public Understanding of Science|Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science]] and is known as a television and radio broadcaster as well as an author of popular books on mathematics.{{Sfn|Neumann|2013|p=353}}

==Historical statutory professors==
[[File:Ben_Green.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ben Green (mathematician)|Ben Green]] holds the [[Waynflete Professorships|Waynflete Professorship of Pure Mathematics]].]]

* Oxford's [[Regius Professor of Mathematics]] was created in 2016 as part of [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth]]'s 90th birthday celebrations. Regius Professorships are awarded "to reflect an exceptionally high standard of teaching and research at an institution".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisher |first=Connie |date=2013-01-29 |title=The Queen awards Regius professorships |url=https://www.royal.uk/queen-awards-regius-professorships |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=The Royal Family |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=New Regius Professorship in Mathematics for Queen's 90th birthday |url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2016-06-06-new-regius-professorship-mathematics-queens-90th-birthday |date=6 June 2016 |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=University of Oxford |language=en}}</ref> The first and current holder of this chair is Sir [[Andrew Wiles]].<ref>University of Oxford, [http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2018-05-31-sir-andrew-wiles-appointed-first-regius-professor-mathematics-oxford Sir Andrew Wiles appointed first Regius Professor of Mathematics at Oxford], 31 May 2018</ref>
* The [[Savilian Professor of Geometry]] was created in 1619 by [[Henry Savile (Bible translator)|Sir Henry Savile]], at a time when the successes of astronomy and geometry prompted new interest in mathematical education.{{sfn|Chapman|2013a|p=94}}
* The [[Wallis Professor of Mathematics]] was created in 1969 to celebrate [[John Wallis]], who was Savilian Professor of Geometry for 54 years.<ref name="Wallis">{{cite journal |last1=Alexanderson |first1=Gerald |date=2012 |title=John Wallis and Oxford |url=http://www.ams.org/journals/bull/2012-49-03/S0273-0979-2012-01377-0/S0273-0979-2012-01377-0.pdf |journal=Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society |volume=49 |issue=3 |pages=443–446|doi=10.1090/S0273-0979-2012-01377-0 }}</ref>
* The [[Waynflete Professorships|Waynflete Professor of Pure Mathematics]] was created as a result of a Royal Commission reviewing the university in 1877. It honours the 15th-century bishop [[William of Waynflete]], founder of [[Magdalen College]].{{sfn|Hannabuss|2013b|pp=223, 237}}
* The institute hosts the [[Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics]], a chair endowed in 1925 by [[W. W. Rouse Ball|Walter William Rouse Ball]]. A Cambridge mathematician and historian of mathematics, Rouse Ball hoped that the new professor "would not neglect [the] historical and philosophical aspects [of mathematics]." The chair was initially advertised as a Chair in Mathematical Physics.{{sfn|Fauvel|2013|p=23}}{{sfn|Rayner|2013|pp=313–314}}
* The [[Sedleian Professor of Natural Philosophy]] was established in 1621 by Sir William Sedley, 4th Baronet of [[Aylesford]]. While some of the first holders of this chair had medical degrees, it has more recently become associated with applied mathematics.{{sfn|Chapman|2013a|p=95}}
* The [[Simonyi Professorship for the Public Understanding of Science|Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science]] was endowed in 1995 by the Hungarian software architect [[Charles Simonyi]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Oxford Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science |url=https://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/about-marcus/the-oxford-simonyi-professor-for-the-public-understanding-of-science/ |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=ox.ac.uk}}</ref> Its first holder was the ethologist [[Richard Dawkins]]. It has been associated with the institute since 2008, when the chair was taken up by [[Marcus du Sautoy]].<ref>[http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/ The Simonyi Professorship], University of Oxford, UK.</ref>

== Alumni ==
Sir [[Michael Atiyah]] was a member between 1961 and 1990.{{sfn|Atiyah|2013}} [[Mary Cartwright]], who earned her first degree and [[Doctor of Philosophy|doctorate]] at Oxford, was the first female mathematician to be awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society and the first female president of the [[London Mathematical Society]].{{sfn|Rayner|2013|p=311}}

==In popular culture==
In 2015, the final episode, "What Lies Tangled", of the British television detective drama ''[[List of Lewis episodes#Series 9: 2015|Lewis]]'' was set and filmed in the Mathematical Institute. Sir Andrew Wiles played a professor who appears in the background of one shot.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-05 |title=Ian Pearce, Location Manager for Lewis, Talks Filming in Oxford with Frederick Weisel |url=https://crimereads.com/ian-pearce-location-manager-for-lewis-talks-filming-in-oxford-with-frederick-weisel/ |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=CrimeReads |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Fauvel |editor-first1=John |editor-last2=Flood |editor-first2=Raymond |editor-last3=Wilson |editor-first3=Robin |editor1-link=John Fauvel|editor2-link=Raymond Flood (mathematician)|editor3-link=Robin Wilson (mathematician)|title=Oxford figures : eight centuries of the mathematical sciences |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780199681976 |edition=Second}}
**{{harvc|in=Fauvel|in2=Flood|in3=Wilson|first1=Raymond|last1=Flood|last2=Fauvel|first2=John|c=John Wallis|year=2013}}
**{{harvc|in=Fauvel|in2=Flood|in3=Wilson|last=Fauvel|first=John|c=Eight centuries of mathematical traditions|year=2013}}
**{{harvc|in=Fauvel|in2=Flood|in3=Wilson|last=Chapman|first=Allan|c=The first professors|year=2013|author-link=Allan Chapman (historian)|anchor-year=2013a}}
**{{harvc|in=Fauvel|in2=Flood|in3=Wilson|last=Chapman|first=Allan|c=Edmond Halley|year=2013|author-link=Allan Chapman (historian)|anchor-year=2013b}}
**{{harvc|in=Fauvel|in2=Flood|in3=Wilson|last=Hannabuss|first=Keith |c=The 19th century|year=2013|anchor-year=2013a}}
**{{harvc|in=Fauvel|in2=Flood|in3=Wilson|last=Hannabuss|first=Keith |c=Henry Smith|year=2013|anchor-year=2013b}}
**{{harvc|in=Fauvel|in2=Flood|in3=Wilson|last=Wilson|first=Robin |c=Charles Dodgson|year=2013|author-link=Robin Wilson (mathematician)}}
**{{harvc|in=Fauvel|in2=Flood|in3=Wilson|last=Rayner|first=Margaret E. |c=The 20th century|year=2013|author-link=Margaret Rayner}}
**{{harvc|in=Fauvel|in2=Flood|in3=Wilson|last=Atiyah|first=Michael |c=Some personal reminiscences|year=2013|author-link=Michael Atiyah}}
**{{harvc|in=Fauvel|in2=Flood|in3=Wilson|last=Neumann|first=Peter M. |c=Recent Developments|year=2013|author-link=Peter M. Neumann}}
* {{cite book|last=Woodhouse |first=Nick|url=https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/system/files/attachments/OxfordMathematics_ROQ_leaflet.pdf |title=The Andrew Wiles Building: a short history| publisher=University of Oxford|year=2014|author-link=Nick Woodhouse}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford}}
* {{official website|https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLnGGRG__uGSPLBLzyhg8dQ Oxford Mathematics on YouTube]

{{University of Oxford}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford}}
[[Category:1934 establishments in England]]

[[Category:University and college buildings completed in 1966]]
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[[Category:University and college buildings completed in 2013]]
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[[Category:Departments of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Mathematics departments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Mathematical institutes]]
[[Category:Research institutes in Oxford]]