Sir Martin John Taylor, FRS (born 18 February 1952) is a British mathematician and academic. He was Professor of

Pure Mathematics Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications ...

at the

School of Mathematics, University of Manchester The Department of Mathematics at the University of Manchester is one of the largest unified mathematics departments in the United Kingdom, with over 90 academic staff and an undergraduate intake of roughly 400 students per year (including student ...

and, prior to its formation and merger,

UMIST The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for Research univer ...

where he was appointed to a chair after moving from

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

in 1986. He was elected Warden of

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

on 5 November 2009, took office on 2 October 2010 and retired in September 2018.

Early life and education

Taylor was born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

in 1952 and educated at Wyggeston Grammar School. He gained a first class degree from

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

in 1973, and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

with a thesis entitled ''Galois module structure of the ring of integers of l-extensions'' in 1976 under the supervision of

Albrecht Fröhlich Albrecht Fröhlich FRS (22 May 1916 – 8 November 2001) was a German-born British mathematician, famous for his major results and conjectures on Galois module theory in the Galois structure of rings of integers. Education He was born in Muni ...

Research

His early research concerned various properties and structures of

algebraic numbers In mathematics, an algebraic number is a number that is a root of a non-zero polynomial in one variable with integer (or, equivalently, rational) coefficients. For example, the golden ratio (1 + \sqrt)/2 is an algebraic number, because it is a ...

. In 1981 he proved the

Fröhlich conjecture Fröhlich is a German language surname meaning ''cheerful''. Also spelled Froelich, Froehlich, Frohlich or Frolich, the surname may refer to: * Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, German evangelist, theologian and writer * Adolf Froelich, Polish inventor, ...

relating the symmetries of

algebraic integer In algebraic number theory, an algebraic integer is a complex number that is integral over the integers. That is, an algebraic integer is a complex root of some monic polynomial (a polynomial whose leading coefficient is 1) whose coefficients ...

s to the behaviour of certain

analytic function In mathematics, an analytic function is a function that is locally given by a convergent power series. There exist both real analytic functions and complex analytic functions. Functions of each type are infinitely differentiable, but complex ...

s called

Artin Artin may refer to: * Artin (name), a surname and given name, including a list of people with the name ** Artin, a variant of Harutyun Harutyun ( and in Western Armenian Յարութիւն) also spelled Haroutioun, Harutiun and its variants Har ...

L-function In mathematics, an ''L''-function is a meromorphic function on the complex plane, associated to one out of several categories of mathematical objects. An ''L''-series is a Dirichlet series, usually convergent on a half-plane, that may gi ...

s. In recent years his research has led him to study various aspects of

arithmetic geometry In mathematics, arithmetic geometry is roughly the application of techniques from algebraic geometry to problems in number theory. Arithmetic geometry is centered around Diophantine geometry, the study of rational points of algebraic varieties. ...

: in particular, he and his collaborators have demonstrated how geometric properties of zeros of integral

polynomial In mathematics, a polynomial is a Expression (mathematics), mathematical expression consisting of indeterminate (variable), indeterminates (also called variable (mathematics), variables) and coefficients, that involves only the operations of addit ...

s in many variables can be determined by the behaviour of associated L-functions.

Awards

Taylor was awarded the

London Mathematical Society The London Mathematical Society (LMS) is one of the United Kingdom's Learned society, learned societies for mathematics (the others being the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), the Edinburgh ...

Whitehead Prize The Whitehead Prize is awarded yearly by the London Mathematical Society to multiple mathematicians working in the United Kingdom who are at an early stage of their career. The prize is named in memory of homotopy theory pioneer J. H. C. Whitehe ...

in 1982 and shared the

Adams Prize The Adams Prize is a prize awarded each year by the Faculty of Mathematics at St John's College to a UK-based mathematician for distinguished research in mathematical sciences. The prize is named after the mathematician John Couch Adams and wa ...

in 1983. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1996. He was President of the London Mathematical Society from 1998 to 2000 and in 2004 was appointed Physical Secretary and Vice-President of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. Taylor was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 2009 New Year Honours. Taylor received an honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of East Anglia in July 2012.

Personal life

His hobbies include

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...

and

hill walking Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultiva ...

, and he is an enthusiastic supporter of

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Notes

External links

Sir Martin Taylor's profile on the Merton College website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Martin J. 1952 births Living people Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Alumni of King's College London 20th-century British mathematicians 21st-century British mathematicians British number theorists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology Academics of the University of Manchester Knights Bachelor People educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys People from Bramhall People from Leicester Whitehead Prize winners Wardens of Merton College, Oxford Fellows of Merton College, Oxford