Six Edinburgh academics have been recognised for their mathematics expertise by a prestigious new national body.
Edinburgh academics appointed to the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences (clockwise, left to right: Thanasis Tsanas; Ruth King; Miguel Anjos; Steve Tobias; Chris Dent; Minhyong Kim)
They are among a group of inaugural Fellows appointed to the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences.
The new academy aims to bring together leading mathematicians across academia, business, industry and government to help solve some of the UK’s biggest challenges.
Exceptional talent
University researchers were among the first 100 Fellows appointed to the Academy at an event at the Royal Society in London.
They have been recognised as leaders in their field due to their fundamental discoveries, work in education or in driving the application of mathematics across society.
Collectively, they will collaborate on tackling challenges including pandemic preparedness, economic transformation, national security and responsible AI.
Edinburgh Fellows
The inaugural Fellows include Professor Miguel Anjos, Chair of Operational Research in the School of Mathematics. He carries out research in mathematical optimisation and its industrial applications.
Also among the Fellows is Chris Dent, Professor of Industrial Mathematics in the School of Mathematics. His research interests include energy systems and related topics in wider infrastructure and government modelling. Much of his current work is on the security of energy supplies and climate resilience.
They are joined by Professor Minhyong Kim, the Sir Edmund Whittaker Professor of Mathematical Sciences in the School of Mathematics, whose research focuses on number theory and mathematical physics. He is also Professor of Mathematics at Heriot-Watt University.
I’m delighted to welcome our inaugural Fellows — individuals of exceptional distinction who collectively advance the mathematical sciences through discovery, leadership, education and real-world application. As Fellows of the Academy, they will come together in service of the wider public good: bringing independent expertise to bear on national priorities, championing excellence in mathematics education, strengthening the UK’s research and innovation base, and helping to ensure that mathematics continues to deliver opportunity, resilience and prosperity across our four nations.
Professor Dame Alison Etheridge
President of the Academy for Mathematical Sciences
Professor Ruth King, the Thomas Bayes Chair of Statistics in the School of Mathematics, and Director of the Bayes Centre, is another of the inaugural Fellows. Her work focuses on the development of new ways of using statistics to address real-world problems in areas such as ecology and epidemiology.
Elsewhere, Professor Steve Tobias, Tait Chair of Mathematical Physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy, has also been appointed a Fellow. He conducts research in mathematical aspects of fluid dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics, key areas of interest for astrophysics and geophysics.
Professor Athanasios ('Thanasis') Tsanas, Chair of Digital Health and Data Science in the Usher Institute at Edinburgh Medical School, is another of the new Fellows. His research focuses on the development and application of signal processing and statistical machine learning algorithms. Outputs of his work have been used by the NHS and a range of industrial partners in the UK and beyond.
Mathematics sits at the heart of the UK’s scientific and technological strength and is essential to the development of the industries of the future, in exciting fields like AI and quantum. The Academy for the Mathematical Sciences’ inaugural Fellows represent the very best of this national capability, and I commend the Academy for bringing them together. Their expertise strengthens our security, boosts productivity and supports high‑quality jobs across the country, so it is only right that they are celebrated.
Lord Vallance
Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear
