Seven Cambridge researchers have been appointed Fellows of the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences. The inaugural cohort of 100 Fellows brings together the UK's strongest mathematicians across academia, education, business, industry, and government to help solve some of the UK's biggest challenges.
Included among the Fellowship are winners of the Fields Medal, business leaders, distinguished teachers and academics, science communicators, and pioneers of computing and machine learning. They will collaborate on tackling challenges, including pandemic preparedness, economic transformation, national security, and safe AI
Much like Fellows of the other National Academies (Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering, British Academy and the Academy of Medical Sciences), the Fellows of the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences have been recognised as leaders in their fields, through fundamental discoveries, exceptional work in education, or driving the application of mathematics across society.
The new Cambridge Fellows are:
Professor Sir John Aston FRS is the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Cambridge. He is the Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life and a Fellow of Churchill College. John leads research into the use of quantitative evidence in public policymaking. He works with those in public life to ensure they use the best methods. He aims to improve the use of statistics and quantitative evidence in public policy. He was Chief Scientific Adviser and Director-General for Science, Technology, Analysis, Research and Strategy at the Home Office from 2017 to 2020. He was a founding director of the Alan Turing Institute. John was knighted in 2021 for services to statistics and public policymaking.
Professor Anne-Christine Davis OBE is the Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Physics (1967) at Cambridge and Life Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. She was the first female Professor in the Faculty of Mathematics at Cambridge. She has held positions at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, CERN, Imperial College and Durham University. Her work over a number of years has been in the area of dark energy and theoretical cosmology. She was awarded an OBE in the King's Birthday honours in 2014.
Professor Richard Samworth FRS is Professor of Statistical Science and a Fellow of St John's College. Since 2017, he has also been Director of the Statistical Laboratory. His main research interests are in statistical methodology and theory (particularly nonparametric and high-dimensional statistics), as well as the statistical foundations of AI. He received the COPSS Presidents' Award in 2018, was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2021 and was awarded the David Cox Medal for Statistics and the Royal Statistical Society Guy Medal in Silver in 2025.
Professor Carola-Bibiane Schönlieb is Professor of Applied Mathematics, Head of the Cambridge Image Analysis group and a Fellow of Jesus College. Her current research interests focus on variational methods, partial differential equations and machine learning for image analysis, image processing and inverse imaging problems, and the mathematical foundations of machine learning. She has active interdisciplinary collaborations with clinicians, biologists and physicists on biomedical imaging topics, chemical engineers and plant scientists on image sensing, as well as collaborations with artists and art conservators on digital art restoration.
Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter FRS OBE is Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Cambridge, and a Fellow of Churchill College. He was previously Chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, which aimed to improve the way that statistical evidence is used by health professionals, patients, lawyers and judges, media and policymakers. He has authored several bestselling books and hosted multiple BBC4 documentaries. His career highlights include appearing on Desert Island Discs in 2022 and, in 2011, coming 7th in an episode of BBC One's Winter Wipeout. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2005, awarded an OBE in 2006, and knighted in 2014 for services to medical statistics. He was President of the Royal Statistical Society for 2017-2018, and has been a Non-Executive Director of the UK Statistics Authority since 2020.
Professor Jack Thorne FRS is a pure mathematician with research interests at the intersection of number theory, representation theory, and algebra, particularly in the Langlands programme and arithmetic statistics. For his contributions to the subject, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2020. Jack received his PhD from Harvard University in 2012, when he was elected a Clay Research Fellow, and has held positions at Harvard University and the University of Cambridge. He is currently Kuwait Professor of Number Theory & Algebra at Cambridge, and a Fellow of Trinity College.
Professor Wendelin Werner is Rouse Ball Professor at Cambridge since 2023. Prior to that, he had been a professor at University of Paris-Sud (1997-2013) and ETH Zürich (2013-2023). For his research in Probability Theory, he has received a number of awards, including the Fields Medal in 2006.
Lord Vallance KCB FRS FMedSci FRCP HonFREng, Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), said:
"Mathematics sits at the heart of the UK's scientific and technological strength and is essential to the development of the industries of the future, in exciting fields like AI and quantum.
"The Academy for the Mathematical Sciences' inaugural Fellows represent the very best of this national capability, and I commend the Academy for bringing them together. Their expertise strengthens our security, boosts productivity and supports high‑quality jobs across the country, so it is only right that they are celebrated."
