Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford


The Mathematical Institute is the mathematics department at the University of Oxford, England. It forms one of the twelve departments of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division in the University. The department is located between Somerville College and Green Templeton College on Woodstock Road, next to the Faculty of Philosophy.

Overview

The Oxford Mathematical Institute includes both pure and applied mathematics and is one of the largest and most respected mathematics departments in the UK with about 100 faculty members, and was ranked as the top mathematics department in the UK in the 2014 UK Research Evaluation Framework. 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, climate modelling, networks and the brain. It has over 850 undergraduates, over 250 postgraduates and around 150 MSc students.

History

The first Mathematical Institute was built in 1966 and was located at the northern end of St Giles' near the junction with Banbury Road in central north Oxford. The building of an institute was originally proposed by G.H. Hardy at least 30 years earlier. In addition, the Institute had two annexes: one in Dartington House, on Little Clarendon Street, and the other in the Gibson Building, on the site of the Radcliffe Infirmary.
As of Michaelmas term 2013 Oxford Mathematics has been unified and is now housed in the purpose-built Andrew Wiles Building in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in North Oxford, near the original Radcliffe Infirmary. Wiles, the Regius Professor of Mathematics at the university, is known for proving Fermat's Last Theorem. In 2017, the time allowed for exams was increased by 15 minutes from 90 to 105 minutes for each paper for all students, with one motivation being to improve scores of women and close the gender performance gap.

Statutory Professors

Pure mathematics

Sir Roger Penrose is a prominent :wikt:emeritus|emeritus member of the Institute. Sir Michael Atiyah was another prominent member between 1961 and 1990.

In popular culture

In 2015, the final episode, "What Lies Tangled," of the British television detective drama was set and filmed in the Mathematical Institute.