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World-leading mathematics research
www.newton.ac.uk
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The Isaac Newton Institute
The Isaac Newton Institute is the UK’s national
mathematicsresearch institute. It was opened in July 1992 at
CambridgeUniversity after the Science and Engineering
ResearchCouncil had invited proposals from a number ofuniversities
for such an institute.
Since opening it has established an international reputation for
leadership and research excellence. It is now acknowledged as a
global leader in pure and appliedmathematics research.
The Institute is located in Cambridge University’s Centre
forMathematical Sciences. Its building is open, elegant
andlight-filled. It is spacious and timeless and has become amodel
for the design of institutes elsewhere in the world. Even the
elevator contains a blackboard – and it is used!
Scientific Programmes
The Institute facilitates collaborative research on
problemsdrawn from across mathematics and mathematicalsciences.
Research is conducted through structuredprogrammes lasting four to
six months with 30 or morecore participants.
The very best programmes are selected by the Institute.The
selection criteria are that a programme should havegreat scientific
merit and be at the forefront of currentdevelopments where a
significant scientific break throughcan be expected.
Most programmes are cross-disciplinary and all areexpected to
have the highest quality leadership andparticipants.
By identifying subjects that have both substantivemathematical
significance and clear common ground forcollaborative study, the
Institute cuts through thedepartmental boundaries that often
inhibit interdisciplinaryresearch.
The Institute has run some 100 research programmes in 20 years.
More than 55 Fields, Nobel, Abel and Wolf prizewinners have
participated in these programmes. More than1,800 researchers visit
the Institute each year, from all overthe world.
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Defining Moments
Some special moments define and typify the NewtonInstitute and
the programmes it runs.
Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose came to the Instituteto
research and debate fundamental ideas about the natureof
space-time, gravity and quantum mechanics.
Andrew Wiles announced his famous proof of Fermat’s lasttheorem
at the Institute in the course of three lectures hegave on one of
its programmes.
For its work the Institute was awarded the Queen’sAnniversary
Prize for world class achievement in education.
An Open for Business meeting on climate change held inLondon and
included panel discussions by Lord AdairTurner, Sir John
Beddington, Alan Thorpe, Tim Palmer, RalphCicerone and others.
Research Topics
From its inception, it has been intended that the
Instituteshould be devoted to the Mathematical Sciences in thebroad
sense. In this respect the Institute differs significantlyfrom
similar institutes in other countries. The range ofsciences in
which mathematics plays a significant role isenormous, too large
for an Institute of modest size to coveradequately at any one time.
In making the necessarychoices, important principles are that no
topic is excluded apriori and that scientific merit is to be the
deciding factor.The Institute has contributed to advances in
subjects suchas
The spread of epidemics, how the heart beats,•evolutionary
biologyClimate models, turbulence in fluid flow, the cracking•and
failure of materialsComputer vision, security and cryptology
•Financial markets and economic trading•Particle physics, general
relativity•Geometry, number theory, algebra, topology.•
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Benefits to UK Mathematics
The Institute brings major benefits to UK mathematics.
Programmes are run by world leaders in research. Twothirds of
participants come from outside the UK, giving UKmathematicians and
mathematical scientists theopportunity to interact with the best
people in their fields.
Programmes bring together researchers with differentbackgrounds
and expertise and often result in life-changingcollaborations and
new research directions.
The Institute has built an open access digital library
ofseminars and lectures, so that its research is availableglobally
as it happens; more than 319 Terabytes have beendownloaded.
Scientific Steering Committee
At the Institute’s core is its Scientific Steering
Committee(SSC). This consists of 14 eminent British and
Europeanmathematical scientists. It is led by Professor Valerie
Ishamfrom University College London and includes the
Institute’sDirector, Professor John Toland.
The SSC initiates proposals for programmes and responds
toproposals made to the Institute by other leadingmathematical
scientists. It then leads a rigorous peer reviewprocess involving
up to eight referees, to ensure that everyprogramme is of the
highest quality.
In forming its judgements, the SSC considers these peerreview
reports in the context of: the quality of the researchproposed; its
timeliness; the opportunities it offers to bringtogether different
areas; value to the UK community; andthe potential impact which the
special environment of theInstitute can engender.
Successful proposals are usually developed in a process
ofdiscussion between the proposers and the SSC conductedthrough the
Director, and may well be considered at morethan one meeting of the
SSC before selection isrecommended.
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Case Study – Surface Water Waves
This programme was the longest-ever academic meeting tofocus on
water waves and was the first to bring togetherwestern and former
USSR scientists. It resulted in abreakthrough in our understanding
of, and ability to predict,freak waves. This has led to routine
guidance being available forshipping from the European Centre for
Medium-Range WeatherForecasts.
A collaboration was initiated on the programme that led to
ahurricane forecasting model now used by the US NationalHurricane
Center. An initiative also began to investigate ocean-atmosphere
boundary impact on weather and climate. Manypapers, two books and a
Dirac medal came directly out of thework on the programme.
Case Study – Machine Learning
The Institute ran a landmark programme on machine learningand
neural networks. This put probabilistic aspects of neuralnetworks
on a sound footing for the first time. The TrueSkillranking system
for Microsoft’s Xbox Live was a direct spin-off, aswas the now
widely used BUGS Bayesian inference software. Apaper on Bayesian
measures of complexity by Spiegelhalter etal. that came out of the
programme was the third most citedpaper in the mathematical
sciences over the next decade.
Case Study – Energy Systems Week
This special event was held during a programme on the use of
probability theory in telecommunications. It exploredapplications
of probability to managing energy networkssupplied by intermittent
renewable energy sources. Newcollaborations formed between experts
in engineering,economics and mathematical game theory and research
wasinitiated into the mathematical foundations of energy
networksincluding buffering, storage and transmission.
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Institute Programmes: Past, Present and Future1 Low Dimensional
Topology and Quantum Field Theory 2 Dynamo Theory 3 L-functions and
Arithmetic
4 Epidemic Models 5 Computer Vision 6 Random Spatial Processes 7
Geometry and Gravity 8 Cellular AutomataAggregation and Growth 9
Topological Defects 10 Symplectic Geometry 11 Exponential
Asymptotics 12 Financial
Mathematics 13 Semantics of Computation 14 From Finite to
Infinite Dimensional Dynamical Systems 15 Dynamics of Complex
Fluids 16 Computer Security, Cryptology and Coding Theory 17
Mathematics ofAtmosphere and Ocean Dynamics 18 Mathematical
Modelling of Plankton Population Dynamics 19 Four-
Dimensional Geometry and Quantum Field Theory 20 Representation
Theory of Algebraic Groups and RelatedFinite Groups 21
Non-Perturbative Aspects of Quantum Field Theory 22 Disordered
Systems and Quantum Chaos
23 Neural Networks and Machine Learning 24 Dynamics of
Astrophysical Discs 25 Arithmetic Geometry 26 Nonlinear and
Nonstationary Signal Processing 27 Biomolecular Function and
Evolution in the Context of the
Genome Project 28 Mathematics and Applications of Fractals 29
Turbulence 30 Complexity, Computation andthe Physics of Information
31 Structure Formation in the Universe 32 Mathematical Developments
in SolidMechanics and Materials Science 33 Ergodic Theory,
Geometric Rigidity and Number Theory 34 StronglyCorrelated Electron
Systems 35 Free Boundary Problems in Industry 36 Quantized Vortex
Dynamics and
Superfluid Turbulence 37 Singularity Theory 38 Geometry and
Topology of Fluid Flows 39 Symmetric Functionsand Macdonald
Polynomials 40 Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations 41 Managing
Uncertainty - New AnalysisTools for Insurance, Economics and
Finance 42 Surface Water Waves 43 Integrable Systems 44 From
Individual toCollective Behaviour in Biological Systems 45 Higher
Dimensional Complex Geometry 46 M-Theory 47 Foams andMinimal
Surfaces 48 Computation, Combinatorics and Probability 49 New
Contexts for Stable Homotopy Theory50 Computational Challenges in
Partial Differential Equations 51 Nonlinear Hyperbolic Waves in
Phase Dynamics
and Astrophysics 52 Spaces of Kleinian Groups and Hyperbolic
3-Manifolds 53 Interaction and Growth inComplex Stochastic Systems
54 Granular and Particle-Laden Flows 55 Statistical Mechanics of
Molecular and
Cellular Biological Systems 56 Random Matrix Approaches in
Number Theory 57 Magnetic Reconnection Theory 58 Quantum
Information Science 59 Magnetohydrodynamics of Stellar Interiors 60
Model Theory and
Applications to Algebra and Analysis 61 Developments in
Quantitative Finance 62 Pattern Formation in LargeDomains 63 Global
Problems in Mathematical Relativity 64 Principles of the Dynamics
of Non-Equilibrium
Systems 65 Logic and Algorithms 66 Spectral Theory and Partial
Differential Equations 67 NoncommutativeGeometry 68 The Painlevé
Equations and Monodromy Problems 69 Stochastic Computation in the
BiologicalSciences 70 Analysis on Graphs and its Applications 71
Highly Oscillatory Problems: Computation, Theory and
Application 72 Strong Fields, Integrability and Strings 73
Bayesian Nonparametric Regression: Theory, Methodsand Applications
74 Phylogenetics 75 Statistical Theory and Methods for Complex,
High-Dimensional Data
76 Combinatorics and Statistical Mechanics 77 Mathematics and
Physics of Anderson Localization: 50 Years After78 Design of
Experiments 79 The Nature of High Reynolds Number Turbulence 80
Algebraic Lie Theory
81 Discrete Integrable Systems 82 The Cardiac Physiome Project
83 Non-Abelian Fundamental Groups inArithmetic Geometry 84 Dynamics
of Discs and Planets 85 Stochastic Partial Differential Equations
86 Stochastic
Processes in Communication Sciences 87 Statistical Challenges
Arising from Genome Resequencing 88 Gyrokinetics in Laboratory and
Astrophysical Plasmas 89 Mathematical and Statistical Approaches to
Climate
Modelling and Prediction 90 Partial Differential Equations in
Kinetic Theories 91 Moduli Spaces 92 DiscreteAnalysis 93 Design and
Analysis of Experiments 94 Inverse Problems 95 The Mathematics and
Applications of
Branes in String and M-Theory 96 Semantics and Syntax: A Legacy
of Alan Turing 97 Topological Dynamics in thePhysical and
Biological Sciences 98 Spectral Theory of Relativistic Operators 99
Multiscale Numerics for theAtmosphere and Ocean 100
Grothendieck-Teichmuller Groups 101 The Mathematics of Liquid
Crystals 102
Mathematical Modelling and Analysis of Complex Fluids and Active
Media in Evolving Domains 103 PolynomialOptimisation 104 Infectious
Disease Dynamics 105 Mathematical Challenges in Quantum Information
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Mathematics and Physics of the Holographic Principle 107
Mathematics for the Fluid Earth 108 Free BoundaryProblems and
Related Topics 109 Inference for Change-Point and Related Processes
110 TBA 111 Mathematical,
Statistical and Computational Aspects of the New Science of
Metagenomics 112 Advanced Monte Carlo Methodsfor Complex Inference
Problems 113 Interactions between Dynamics of Group Actions and
Number Theory 114 Theory of Water Waves 115 Quantum Control
Engineering: Mathematical Principles and Applications 116 Periodic
and Ergodic Spectral Problems 117 Random Geometry 118 Random
Geometry 119 CouplingGeometric PDEs with Physics for Cell
Morphology, Motility and Pattern Formation 120 Metric and
Analytic
Aspects of Moduli Spaces 121 Mathematical, Foundational and
Computational Aspects of the Higher Infinite 122 Stochastic
Dynamical Systems in Biology: Numerical Methods and Applications
123 Mathematical Aspects of
Quantum Integrable Models in and out of Equilibrium 124 Melt in
the Mantle 125 Theoretical Foundations forStatistical Network
Analysis
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Mathematics Beyond the Institute
The Institute actively interacts with the UK’smathematical
science community through anetwork of correspondents at
universities andinstitutes. It feeds the results of its
programmesinto industry through Open for Businessmeetings held in
Cambridge and London.
It has established a City network of around 100supporters
amongst senior bankers, investmentmanagers and business people
through privatedinners held at the London house of theInstitute’s
chairman, Howard Covington, and atthe Royal Society at which
leading mathematicalscientists discuss their work. Guest
speakershave included Stephen Hawking, Roger Penrose,Martin Rees
and James Lovelock and topics haveranged from how the universe
began throughthe results coming out of the Large HadronCollider to
possibilities for geo-engineering.
To involve younger people in its work, theInstitute brought to
the UK for the first time theImaginary exhibition. This uses
advancedgraphics to allow school children to constructsculptural
images that illustrate algebraicformulae.
The Institute reaches a broader audience byholding public
lectures and participating in theCambridge Science Festival. It has
also run aposter campaign on mathematics for the
LondonUnderground.
Funding and Fundraising
The Institute costs £2.6 million per annum to run. This amount
includes the running costs of the Instituteitself as well as the
living allowances and housing costs of the visiting mathematical
scientists; its currentfunding allows also modest contributions
towards stipends and travel expenses.
The Institute normally runs four main research programmes each
year as well as a number of workshopsand outreach activities. The
cost of a research programme is typically around £550,000.
About 55% of the Institute’s funding is provided by the UK
research councils collectively in a grant thatexpires in 2018. The
balance comes from the University of Cambridge, charitable
foundations,philanthropic donations, support for specialised
programmes and income from a modest endowment.
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Turing Gateway to Mathematics
In March 2013, the Isaac Newton Institute for
MathematicalSciences launched the Turing Gateway to Mathematics.
Thisnew initiative aims to stimulate the interchange of
knowledgeand ideas between academics of different disciplines and
usersof modern mathematics. Named after Alan Turing because ofhis
exceptionally wide influence across a very broad front, theGateway
will be a channel for collaboration and cooperationbetween academia
and industry. It will help to shortenpathways to impact and
increase access to modernmathematical methods for other industrial
and academic areas.
In addition to running the visitor research programmes, theIsaac
Newton Institute brings academic researchers in themathematical
sciences together with industrial, commercialand government
organisations and individuals throughactivities such as the Open
for Business events. The success ofthese events (see
http://www.newton.ac.uk/ofb/) togetherwith follow-up activity
associated with the Institute’s researchprogrammes is a key
motivation for the Turing Gateway toMathematics initiative.
Turing Gateway activity, located in the Isaac Newton
Institute’sFaulkes Gatehouse, expands on the current schedule to
includeevents such as scoping meetings for programme
proposals,bespoke training programmes, summer schools and
practicalcourses on communicating impact, as understood by the
HigherEducation Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and
ResearchCouncils UK (RCUK).
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Development Board
Supporters of the Institute
Isaac Newton Trust Hewlett-Packard
Leverhulme Trust NM Rothschild and Sons
Dill Faulkes Educational Trust Ltd.
London Mathematical Society Microsoft Corporation/Research
Sun Microsystems Inc. Apple Computers Ltd.
John Templeton Foundation Clay Mathematics Institute
Rosenbaum Foundation PF Charitable Trust
Prudential Corporation plc The David Harding Foundation
Howard and Veronika Covington The Turner-Kirk Charitable
Trust
Garfield Weston Foundation Henderson Group plc
Clive Humby and Edwina Dunn Mr Lawrence Staden
Simons Foundation
Many additional individuals, companies and trusts have also
generously donated to the Institute.
If you would like to find out more about the Institute and its
world-leading research,please contact:
John Toland, Institute Director Howard Covington, Chair of the
Management Committee
[email protected] [email protected]
Mr Howard Covington (Chair)
Mr John Barker
Professor Peter Goddard
Mr David Harding
Mr David Jacob
Lord Rees of Ludlow
Dr Mike Lynch
Mr Graham Keniston-Cooper
Mr Lawrence Staden
Professor Bernard Silverman
Mr Lawrence Staden
Professor John Toland
Ms Jane Tozer
Sir David Wallace
Mr Glen Whitehead
Dr Mark Williams
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Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences20 Clarkson
Road, Cambridge, CB3 0EH, UK
www.newton.ac.uk
Professor John TolandDirector, Isaac Newton Institute
NM Rothschild & Sons Professor of Mathematics
Mr Howard CovingtonChair, Management Committee
Formerly CEO of New Star AssetManagement and former Headof the
European business ofWasserstein Perella
Professor Valerie IshamChair, Scientific Steering Committee
Professor of Probability and Statisticsat University College
London andformer President of the RoyalStatistical Society
Professor Michael SingerChair of the Correspondents
Professor of Mathematics atUniversity College, London
June 2014
