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 students ...

and, prior to its formation and merger,

UMIST , mottoeng = By Knowledge and Work , established = 1824 , closed = 2004 (merged into newly formed University of Manchester in 2004) , affiliation = , endowment = , officer_in_charge = , chairman ...

where he was appointed to a chair after moving from

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a 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 college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

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 one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

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

Early life and education

Taylor was born in Leicester 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 at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named aft ...

in 1973, and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

from King's College London 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 Munic ...

Research

His early research concerned various properties and structures of

algebraic numbers 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 root of the po ...

. 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 which 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 coefficien ...

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 ( hy, Հարություն and in Western Armenian Յարութիւն) also spelled Haroutioun, Harut ...

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 give ...

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 an expression consisting of indeterminates (also called variables) and coefficients, that involves only the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and positive-integer powers of variables. An ex ...

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 societies for mathematics (the others being the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), the Edinburgh Mathematical S ...

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. Whitehea ...

in 1982 and shared the

Adams Prize The Adams Prize is one of the most prestigious prizes awarded by the University of Cambridge. It is awarded each year by the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and St John's College to a UK-based mathematician for distingu ...

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 judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

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, r ...

. Taylor was knighted 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 method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diff ...

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 unculti ...

, and he is an enthusiastic supporter of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

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 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