PlutomaticsIt has been erroneously suggested that we are using Pluto, our feline favourite, to sneak maths into the lives of people who don’t understand it. Actually, we are using maths to sneak cats into the lives of people who don’t …
VariationsPluto isn’t doing much here. In fact he’s not doing anything at all. But from his sedentary position, he is demonstrating an important piece of mathematics. Doesn’t he always? #maths #catshorts
Yu Deng ’11 and Hong Wang PhD ’19 awarded Fields MedalMIT alumni Yu Deng ’11 and Hong Wang PhD ’19 were among the four young mathematicians awarded Fields Medals on July 23 at the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM). The other two honorees were John Pardon and Jacob Tsimerman.The Fields Medal is …
MIT projects selected for funding under US Department of Energy’s Genesis MissionMIT researchers are set to contribute to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Genesis Mission, with 15 collaborative projects among those selected for funding under Genesis Phase I, DOE announced Wednesday.The Genesis Mission, a national initiative, intends to build “the world’s most …
Once upon a timeA long time ago, in a distant land called the English summer, you’d often see, in gardens, long tubes, usually made of rubber or plastic. At the end of these tubes, hands would wave the tube about and water might …
What’s in a word?We probably don’t spend much time thinking about colleagues’ mathematical schooldays. Presumably they were all a bit similar, it being maths, the universal language etc. But behind each story lies language (or lack of it). And political circumstance. Here’s Radek. #maths #language …
Meet me in the riverIf you are in Oxford, walk across to Port Meadow, open grassland unploughed for 4000 years where cows cool their cloven hooves in the River Thames (known as the Isis in Oxford) and people wild swim alongside swans and geese. …
Don’t try to be funnyOxford Mathematician Josh Bull is in big trouble. He failed to heed the most important warning on social media for a mathematician: Don’t try to be funny. #maths #worldcup #satire
What happens when environmental change outpaces life’s ability to adapt?When an animal’s environment changes faster than the animal can adapt, its chances of survival can flat-line. The same is true for populations, and even entire species. Now, scientists at MIT and the University of Leicester have found that this connection …
QS ranks MIT the world’s No. 1 university for 2026-27MIT has again been named the world’s top university by the QS World University Rankings, which were announced today. This is the 15th year in a row MIT has received this distinction.The full 2027 edition of the rankings — published …
MIT affiliates win 2026 Breakthrough, New Horizons prizesA number of MIT affiliates were recently honored for their research by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation.Stuart H. Orkin ’67 shared a Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences with Swee Lay Thein for their research transforming sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia from …
Can England win the World Cup?The World Cup is almost here and everyone has an opinion about likely winners. But being mathematicians, we have insisted on looking at the data, and we think we have found the secret to predicting results. Josh Bull is our analyst …
The long number on the back of the cardPure mathematicians tell us that our 30 billion or so credit, debit and prepaid cards are only safe because of the seemingly esoteric world of number theory, and prime numbers in particular. But how? James Maynard takes your details in his …
Fancy a game of cards?Never play a card game with a mathematician. They might not win, but they’ll certainly explain exactly how the game works. Come to think of it, cards with a mathematician might be even more fun. But certainly don’t play table football …
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