Three St Catz Mathematicians selected to UK’s new Academy for the Mathematical Sciences
St Catherine’s College is celebrating a remarkable national honour, with three of its mathematicians selected to the inaugural Fellowship of the newly established Academy for the Mathematical Sciences.
Professor Christoph Reisinger, Dr Robert Leese, and Zubin Siganporia are among just 100 Fellows appointed from across the UK, spanning academia, industry, government and education. Their election will be formally marked at a celebration event at the Royal Society in London this week.
The Academy has been founded to ensure that mathematical sciences sit at the heart of national life and policy-making, bringing together leading experts to help address some of the UK’s most pressing challenges, from pandemic preparedness and climate resilience to national security and the safe development of artificial intelligence
That three of the Academy’s inaugural 100 Fellows are from St Catz is an extraordinary achievement, reflecting the College’s long-standing strength in mathematics and its deep connections to research, industry and public life.
Leaders across research, industry and education
Professor Christoph Reisinger is Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Mathematics at St Catherine’s College. His work spans computational mathematics, stochastic analysis and the mathematical foundations of machine learning, with collaborations across academia, industry and the public sector, covering financial market design, air traffic control, generative modelling for disease progression and AI security. As a Fellow of the Academy, he hopes to help foster a national debate on principled approaches to AI adoption in research and education.
Dr Robert Leese is Chief Technical Officer of the Smith Institute for Industrial Mathematics and System Engineering and has been a Fellow of St Catherine’s College for more than two decades. His career has focused on applying mathematical thinking to real-world challenges in industry and government, from spectrum auctions and infrastructure resilience to national policy development.
Zubin Siganporia is an industrial mathematician and entrepreneur, and founder of QED Analytics, applying advanced modelling and optimisation to challenges across healthcare, energy, security and finance. Alongside his industrial work, he is closely involved in teaching and outreach at St Catherine’s College and the Oxford Mathematical Institute. He is highly active in public engagement and outreach, delivering major keynote talks, appearing in national media, and establishing new education programmes to support the next generation of mathematicians.
Mathematics at the heart of national life
The Academy for the Mathematical Sciences sits alongside the UK’s other national academies, including the Royal Society and the British Academy, and aims to provide an authoritative voice for mathematics across society. Its Fellows will work collectively to support evidence-based policy, strengthen education, and ensure that mathematical expertise underpins the UK’s future prosperity and security.
Commenting on the appointments, the Academy has described its inaugural Fellowship as bringing together the UK’s “hidden problem solvers” – individuals whose work underpins innovation, resilience and progress across every sector of national life.
St Catz congratulates Christoph, Robert and Zubin on this outstanding recognition and looks forward to the contribution they will make, both through the Academy and as members of the College community.
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Find out more about Christoph, Robert and Zubin.
Find out more about the Academy here.