The Mathematical Institute is the
mathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
department at the
University of OxfordThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It forms one of the eight departments of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division in the University.
The Institute is located in a building built in 1966 at the southern end of
Banbury RoadBanbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the Woodstock Road, which it meets at the junction with St...
in central north
OxfordOxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city has a population of just under 165,000, with 151,000 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre...
. It also has an entrance on
Blackhall RoadBlackhall Road is a road running between Keble Road to the north and Museum Road to the south in central Oxford, England.The road borders Keble College to the east for its entire length. The O'Reilly Theatre is located on the road within the college. To the west is the Mathematical Institute of...
to the east. In addition, the Institute has two annexes, which are also located close to the centre of Oxford.
The Mathematical Institute is the
mathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
department at the
University of OxfordThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It forms one of the eight departments of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division in the University.
The Institute is located in a building built in 1966 at the southern end of
Banbury RoadBanbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the Woodstock Road, which it meets at the junction with St...
in central north
OxfordOxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city has a population of just under 165,000, with 151,000 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre...
. It also has an entrance on
Blackhall RoadBlackhall Road is a road running between Keble Road to the north and Museum Road to the south in central Oxford, England.The road borders Keble College to the east for its entire length. The O'Reilly Theatre is located on the road within the college. To the west is the Mathematical Institute of...
to the east. In addition, the Institute has two annexes, which are also located close to the centre of Oxford. Dartington House is situated on
Little Clarendon StreetLittle Clarendon Street is a short shopping street in north-west Oxford. It runs east-west between the foot of the 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 InfirmaryThe 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 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 LibraryThe 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.
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 three "statutory chairs" in pure mathematics. The
Waynflete Professorship of Pure MathematicsThe Waynflete Professorships are four 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...
held by
Raphaël RouquierRaphaël Alexis Marcel Rouquier is a French mathematician and the Waynflete Professor of Pure Mathematics at the University of Oxford.- Education :...
, the Wallis Professorship is held by Professor T J Lyons while the Savilian Professor of Geometry held by
Nigel HitchinNigel Hitchin is a British mathematician working in the fields of differential geometry, algebraic geometry, and mathematical physics.-Academic career:...
, FRS. In applied mathematics there are two statutory chairs : the
Sedleian Professor of Natural PhilosophyThe Sedleian professor of natural philosophy is the name of a chair at the Mathematical Institute of the University of Oxford.The Sedleian Chair was founded by Sir William Sedley who, by his will dated October 20, 1618, left the sum of ₤2,000 to the University of Oxford for purchase of lands for...
is held by
John M. BallSir 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, and the Rouse Ball chair is held by P. Candelas.
Roger PenroseSir 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
emeritusEmeritus is an adjective that is used in the title of a retired professor, bishop, or other professional. Emerita is often used as the female equivalent, although avoided by purists, since phrases such as professor emerita are ungrammatical in Latin...
member of the Institute. Sir
Michael AtiyahSir Michael Francis Atiyah, OM, FRS, FRSE is a British mathematician, and one of the most influential mathematicians of the twentieth century. He grew up in Sudan and Egypt, and spent most of his academic life at Oxford, Cambridge, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton...
was another prominent member between 1961 and 1990. Furthermore,
Professor Marcus du SautoyMarcus Peter Francis du Sautoy is 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. He is currently an EPSRC Senior Media Fellow and was previously a Royal Society University Research Fellow. His...
is the current holder of the university's
Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of ScienceThe 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 on the site of the
Radcliffe InfirmaryThe 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 StreetWalton Street is on the eastern edge of the Jericho district of Oxford, England.The street runs north from the western end of Beaumont Street by the main entrance of Worcester College. Somerville College, one of the former women's colleges, also backs onto the street...
.
In 2007, the Institute joined five other UK University mathematics departments in forming the
Taught Course CentreThe 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 GridAccess 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.