Mathematics alumni

Podcast: Professor Hannah Fry – mathematics for all

Professor Hannah Fry's appointment was announced at a workshop at the Isaac Newton Institute exploring strategies for communicating complex mathematics, organised by the Faculty's outreach and engagement project.

In this podcast, Hannah talks to organisers Dr Marianne Freiberger and Rachel Thomas about her own work, what she is looking forward to most in coming to Cambridge, and her hopes for the future of mathematics communication.

Professor Sir John Aston FRS appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research

Sir John Aston FRS, Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, has been appointed the University's Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research.

“I’m honoured and privileged to take up this position,” said Professor Aston. “We do so many things brilliantly at Cambridge, but our research and our amazing researchers have changed the world and we are rightly incredibly proud of that.”

From Ramsey theory to sphere packings: Dr Julian Sahasrabudhe wins Whitehead Prize

Dr Julian Sahasrabudhe (Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics), has been awarded a prestigious Whitehead Prize for his outstanding contributions to Ramsey theory, his solutions to famous problems in complex analysis and random matrix theory, and his remarkable progress on sphere packings.

He tells us about his work, and why he enjoys making mathematical links “to take something I find really interesting but don't understand, and understand it with the tools that I do.”

Student snapshots: Vishal Gupta

Vishal Gupta studied Mathematics as an undergraduate at Cambridge, followed by Part III. He was one of the Mathematics Faculty’s student ambassadors, and most recently one of the inaugural cohort of Martingale Scholars.

We caught up with Vishal before he started studying for his PhD to talk about what most appeals to him about maths, the opportunities the Martingale scholarship has opened up, and his work inspiring others to apply to Cambridge.

Cambridge changemakers: Professor Emily Shuckburgh

Alumna Professor Emily Shuckburgh OBE is Director of Cambridge Zero and Academic Director of the Institute of Computing for Climate Science (ICCS), based in DAMTP. Profiled for the University's Changemakers series, she talks about her work and inspiration.

“Mathematics is valuable in its own right,” she says, “but my passion has been using it in ways that support nature and human society.”

Boson stars – hunting the unknown

Physicists like nothing better than discovering new phenomena that conflict with current theories. Boson stars, if they exist, could provide a new approach to doing just that – which may also help to solve the mystery of dark matter.

Tamara Evstafyeva and Professor Ulrich Sperhake from DAMTP explain a new breakthrough in how we look for the unknown.

Thinking inside the box: new insights on a particle physics enigma

An elusive particle has puzzled physicists for 20 years. Now, researchers from DAMTP may have shed new light on the mystery. The research team from the High Energy Physics group has identified a new – and simpler – potential explanation for signals appearing as ‘bumps’ in the data from high-energy experiments, which defy the standard picture of particle behaviour and are a leading problem in contemporary physics.