- Marcus du Sautoy
-
Professor
Marcus Peter Francis du Sautoy
D.Phil. (Oxon), O.B.E.
Born 26 August 1965 [1][2]
London, EnglandCitizenship British Fields Mathematics, Science Communication Institutions University of Oxford Alma mater Wadham College, Oxford (DPhil) Doctoral advisor Daniel Segal Known for The Music of the Primes Notable awards Berwick Prize (2001), OBE (2010) Marcus Peter Francis du Sautoy OBE (born in London, 26 August 1965)[3] is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and 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 academic work concerns mainly group theory and number theory. In October 2008, he was appointed to the Simonyi Professorship for the Public Understanding of Science, succeeding the inaugural holder Richard Dawkins.[4] His surname is pronounced
/dʉˈsoʊtɔɪ/ (doo-soh-toy).[5]Contents
Biography
He grew up in Henley-on-Thames and was educated at local comprehensives Gillott's School and King James's College (VI Form, now Henley College) and Wadham College, Oxford where he obtained first class honours in Mathematics, and then completed his DPhil in mathematics. He currently lives in London with his wife and three children. He plays football and the trumpet.
In March 2006, his article Prime Numbers Get Hitched was published on Seed Magazine's website.[6] In it he explained how the number 42, mentioned in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as the answer to everything, is related to the Riemann zeta function. He has also published an article in the scientific magazine New Scientist.
In December 2006 du Sautoy delivered the 2006 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures under the collective title The Num8er My5teries. This was only the third time the subject of the lectures had been mathematics — on the first occasion in 1978, when the lecture was delivered by Erik Christopher Zeeman, du Sautoy had been a schoolboy in the audience. The venue for the 2006 Christmas Lectures was the Institution of Engineering and Technology's headquarters at Savoy Place, London.
Du Sautoy is an atheist, but has stated that as holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science his focus is going to be "very much on the science and less on religion."[7] He has described his own religion as being "Arsenal - football."[8] Du Sautoy is a supporter of Common Hope, an organisation that helps people in Guatemala.[9]
Popularisation of mathematics
He is known for his work popularising mathematics. He has been named by The Independent on Sunday as one of the UK's leading scientists. In 2001 he won the Berwick Prize of the London Mathematical Society, which is awarded every two years to reward the best mathematical research by a mathematician under forty. He writes for The Times and The Guardian and has appeared several times on BBC Radio 4 and on television. He presented the television programme, Mind Games, on BBC Four. He has also written numerous academic articles and books on mathematics, the most recent being The Num8er My5teries. Du Sautoy is also on the advisory board of Mangahigh.com - an online maths game website and has appeared on Channel 4 News and on BBC Radio 4's Today programme promoting the service.
Honours
Du Sautoy was awarded the Berwick Prize in 2001 by the London Mathematical Society for the publication of outstanding mathematical research. In 2009 he won the Michael Faraday Prize from the Royal Society of London for "excellence in communicating science to UK audiences". Du Sautoy was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.[10]
Popular publications
Books
- The Music of the Primes (Fourth Estate 2003)
- Finding Moonshine (UK title, Fourth Estate 2007)
- Symmetry: A Journey into the Patterns of Nature (US title, 2008)
- The Num8er My5teries: A Mathematical Odyssey Through Everyday Life (Fourth Estate 2010)
Television
- The Story of Maths (BBC Four, 2008)[11] is a four part series first broadcast on BBC Four. In this series he discovers techniques and theories from different times and cultures.
- Horizon: Alan and Marcus Go Forth and Multiply (BBC 2, 2009). Alan Davies embarks on a maths odyssey with the help of mathematician Marcus du Sautoy.
- Horizon: The Secret You (BBC 2, 2009). Marcus du Sautoy investigates self-awareness.
- Horizon: How Long is a Piece of String? (BBC 2, 2009). Alan Davies attempts to answer the proverbial question: how long is a piece of string? Featuring Marcus du Sautoy.
- Horizon: What Makes a Genius? (BBC 2, 2010). Marcus du Sautoy asks if geniuses' brains are fundamentally different from his.
- The Beauty of Diagrams (BBC Four, 2010). Produced by Michael Waterhouse and directed by Steven Clarke, Marcus du Sautoy discusses influential scientific diagrams, starting with Vitruvian Man, Leonardo da Vinci's iconic anatomical drawing which follows the geometrical ideas of the Roman architect Vitruvius.
- The Code (BBC 2, 2011). A three-part documentary series. This programme began being broadcast on July 27, 2011.
- Faster Than the Speed of Light? (BBC 2, 2011). Marcus du Sautoy discusses the recent discovery in the OPERA experiment that neutrinos may travel faster than light. First broadcast on October 19, 2011.
Radio
- On the relationship of music and maths Marcus du Sautoy speaks on BBC The Forum
- A Brief History of Mathematics (BBC Radio 4, 2010). du Sautoy presented a ten-part series profiling famous mathematicians.
Articles
- Prime Numbers Get Hitched, Seed, 27 March, 2006
Personal Life
Du Sautoy was a post-doc at the Hebrew University. It was there he met his Israeli wife Shani. They have three children, a son called Tomer and adopted twin daughters Magaly and Ina who are being raised Jewish.[12]
References
- ^ "MarcusduSautoy". Twitter. 2009-009877705-10. http://twitter.com/MarcusduSautoy/status/1753956325. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ "Prof Marcus du Sautoy portrait". The Daily Telegraph (London). 2008-06-27. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/nationaltreasures/2194281/Prof-Marcus-du-Sautoy-portrait.html. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ McKie, Robin (2008-11-02). "A mathematician who's in his prime". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/nov/02/maths-sautoy-dawkins-oxford-science. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
- ^ "New Simonyi Chair appointed". University of Oxford. 2008-10-28. http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2008/081028.html. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ Miller, G. M., ed. (1971) BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names. London: Oxford University Press; p. Du
- ^ du Sautoy, Marcus (2006-03-27). "Prime Numbers Get Hitched". Seed magazine. http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/03/prime_numbers_get_hitched.php. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ Jha, Alok (2008-10-28). "Science Extra: Marcus du Sautoy steps into Dawkins' boots". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/audio/2008/oct/28/marcus-du-sautoy-richard-dawkins. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ Interview with Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs, 12 December 2008
- ^ "Interview with Marcus du Sautoy". New Scientist. 29 November 2008. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026842.000-how-to-sell-science-to-the-big-brother-generation.html?full=true.
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59282. p. 9. 31 December 2009.
- ^ "The Story of Maths". open2.net. http://www.open2.net/storyofmaths/index.html. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ "How Jewish is Marcus Du Sautoy?". The Jewish Chronicle. 2008-11-07. http://thejc.com/lifestyle/how-jewish-is/how-jewish-marcus-du-sautoy. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
External links
- University of Oxford - Dr Marcus du Sautoy
- Marcus du Sautoy's mathematical site
- Marcus du Sautoy on Twitter
- The Music of the Primes website
- Music of the Primes lecture, at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, April 27, 2007
- Marcus du Sautoy at the Internet Movie Database
- Dr Marcus Du Sautoy - Keynote Speaking
- Marcus du Sautoy's Fundraising Page
- Marcus du Sautoy: Symmetry, reality's riddle talk given at TED_(conference) (since October 29, 2009 on Youtube)
- Finding Moonshine Pulse Project Podcast: Finding Moonshine (18 Jun 2008, Oxford)
- A Brief History of Mathematics podcast
Categories:- 1965 births
- 20th-century mathematicians
- 21st-century mathematicians
- British mathematicians
- Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford
- Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford
- Fellows of Wadham College, Oxford
- Fellows of New College, Oxford
- Group theorists
- Living people
- Number theorists
- English atheists
- People from Henley-on-Thames
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Presenters of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
- Statutory Professors of the University of Oxford
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