Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Congratulations to our former Director, Professor David Abrahams, on being awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the King's Birthday Honours, for services to Mathematical Sciences.

Professor Abrahams, who is currently Professor of Applied Mathematics and has been a Fellow of orpus Christi College since 2016, served as Director of the Institute from 2016 to 2021.

As an eminent figure in applied mathematics, he specialises in the mathematical modelling and analysis of waves in physics and engineering. Throughout his career, David has been a leading figure within the national and international mathematics communities, having served as President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) and Scientific Director of the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS).

This prestigious honour is an outstanding recognition of his lifelong dedication, leadership, and profound impact within the international mathematical community.

"I think INI is a unique place for mathematicians and also for people interested in mathematics to meet and exchange..." – David Ginsbourger

Our new video takes you inside the 'Representing, calibrating & leveraging prediction uncertainty from statistics to machine learning' research programme with Florence d'Alché-Buc and David Ginsbourger.

🎬 Watch the full interview here: https://youtu.be/Czr51hAQ_uk

📃 Read the Scientific Report here: https://api.newton.ac.uk/website/v0/events/rcl/reports/scientific-report

Join us as we bridge fields to spark new discoveries at the University of Essex. 🎓

This satellite programme, aims to build long-term collaborative networks between researchers across algebra and geometry.

👉 Workshop 1: Latest Trends in Algebra and Geometry (29 June – 1 July 2026)
Explore problems on actions and invariants of reductive groups, algorithms for groups and geometry, and the group-aided study of moduli problems.
https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/ggiw01/

👉 Open for Business: Pure Maths in the Age of AI (14 July 2026)
Showcase the industrial relevance of current research. Connect participants with organisations at the frontier of AI to build lasting partnerships through KTPs, research agreements, and consultancy.
https://gateway.newton.ac.uk/event/OFBW78/

👉 Workshop 2: AGGITatE 2026 (22 July – 24 July 2026)
An annual workshop hosted at the University of Essex, spanning algebra and geometry and specifically aiming to foster new interdisciplinary collaborations.
https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/ggiw02/

🔗 Visit the links above to view the full agendas and to register today.

Think your maths-related topic could benefit from in-depth, sustained collaboration?

We’re now inviting proposals for Isaac Newton Institute programmes taking place in 2029:
https://www.newton.ac.uk/events/submit-a-proposal/

INI programmes bring together international research communities for extended periods of collaboration, creating space for new ideas, partnerships and breakthroughs across the mathematical sciences and related disciplines.

We consider programmes across the spectrum of mathematical sciences, from applied topics like human behaviour (https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/mhb) and marine technology (https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/mmt/) to fundamental questions in group theory (https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/ggi/) or harmonic analysis (https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/fha/).

It takes a lot to organise a programme and make sure the right people are here, which is why we plan two or three years in advance.

The next deadline is July 31, 2026.

Human behaviour is messy. It can be hard to identify and quantify all the variables that make people do the things they do. But across a range of domains, including economics, public health, and energy systems, it’s important to be able to predict how people will act.

From July 20 to August 14, we’re proud to be partnering with the University of Nottingham: School of Mathematical Sciences to host an INI satellite programme on the mathematics of human behaviour.

Workshop 1 - The Mathematics of Behaviour: Interdisciplinary School
20-24 July
https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/mhbw01/
Come to this if you model human behaviour and you want to hear insights from other domains.

Open for Business - Behavioural Modelling for Policy in Energy and Health
29 July
https://gateway.newton.ac.uk/event/OFBW76/
Come to this if you want to learn how the maths is being applied, and if your models could help solve real-world problems.

Workshop 2 - Modelling Behaviour for Global Challenges: Epidemics and Energy Systems
10-14 August
https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/mhbw02/
Come to this to help develop a roadmap for the discipline.

We’re hiring a Business and Operations Manager to lead our administrative team. It's a unique role at the heart of a world-leading research institute.

This is an opportunity to shape how we deliver everything from research programmes and networking events to fellowships and accommodation. Working closely with the Director and Deputy Director and leading a dedicated administrative team, you will line manage staff across facilities, programmes, communications, IT, and finance.

The Isaac Newton Institute welcomes more than 3,000 leading scientists each year from the UK and around the world, and this role comes at an exciting moment of development, with new systems and initiatives shaping our future work.

We’re looking for someone with strong administration and line management experience, detailed knowledge of finance and HR procedures, and excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Salary: £47,389–£59,966
Closing date: 28 June 2026
Find out more and apply: https://www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/business-and-operations-manager-ln49838

How do target trial emulations work?

In a fascinating hour, Professor Jamie Robins (Harvard University) introduced the mathematics behind this important tool in health research, which has become central to drug testing and situations where true randomised control trials can't happen.

By imitating randomised trials, you can make more causal inferences with the observational data you do have access to.

Watch now on our YouTube channel (link in bio)

Prof Robins is the Rothschild Distinguished Visiting Fellow for our current Causal Inference programme, which concludes on June 26th.

We were glad to see the Leiden Declaration published today, which calls on mathematicians, research organisations, and governments to act now to ensure AI is used to enhance rather than diminish mathematics.

The declaration sets out 23 recommendations to ensure mathematics remains a discipline grounded in proof, insight, openness, and trust.

It identifies five major risks: unreliable results entering an already overburdened publication system, failures of attribution and copyright, growing dependence on proprietary tools and expensive computing power, the overhyping of AI-driven results, and the danger that mathematics could lose autonomy over its own research agenda.

At the Isaac Newton Institute, we are proud to have played a small but important convening role in the story behind this landmark declaration. The idea for a declaration first took shape in a pub in Cambridge during the 2025 follow-on workshop to the 2017 Big Proof programme, and then after it was drafted in Leiden, some of the authors returned to the INI in April 2026 for workshop on AI and Maths, where they met key people at the IMU.

Read more on the INI website: https://www.newton.ac.uk/news/ini-news/mathematicians-call-for-action-on-ai-to-protect-the-future-of-the-discipline/

Explore the declaration here: https://leidendeclaration.ai/

What happens when researchers working on operators, graphs and groups are given the chance to think together over time?

Our new video takes viewers inside Operators, Graphs, Groups, the Isaac Newton Institute research programme that ran from 7 July to 17 December 2025.

Featuring organisers Alex Lubotzky (Weizmann Institute of Science), Cornelia Drutu Badea (University of Oxford) and Alan Reid (Rice University), it offers a window into the ideas and conversations behind the programme.

Watch here:

Inside the 'Operators, Graphs, Groups' research programme This video features an exclusive interview with the esteemed Organi...

What’s happening across the mathematical sciences right now?

Each month, the Isaac Newton Institute newsletter brings together the latest news, opportunities and important deadlines for researchers across the UK and beyond. It’s a simple way to stay connected, whether you’re looking for your next collaboration, keeping track of funding calls, or just wanting a clearer picture of the field.

We’re always inspired by the researchers and ideas that shape our programmes, and our newsletter is one way we share those perspectives more widely.

If you’d like to keep up to date and make sure you don’t miss out, sign up today and join our community.

👉 Subscribe here: https://mailchi.mp/newton/newsletter-sign-up