Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences

What happens when a wave hits an object? 🌊 It scatters, bouncing repeatedly off surrounding surfaces to create a complex web of interactions—a phenomenon known as multiple wave scattering. This process shapes how energy moves through our world, driving fascinating phenomena from rainbows and invisibility cloaks to practical tools like ultrasound imaging.

Over the past two weeks, researchers from around the world gathered at the Isaac Newton Institute for the workshop 'Multiple Wave Scattering in Locally Resonant Materials with Degrees of (Dis)Order'.

Building on momentum from the original 2023 programme, the event focused on advancing the mathematical design and analysis of metamaterials—pushing beyond traditional ordered structures into complex, graded, and time-varying configurations.

Thank you to all our speakers and attendees for making these two weeks such a vibrant, productive gathering! 👏

🔗 Read more about the event: https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/mwsw06/

🗣️ Catch up on talks via the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9-ncTy2ag0ERngf0vfFrvXLYWD3x2Bpd

Across the UK, mathematical sciences networks play a vital role in bringing researchers together, creating space for collaboration, and supporting communities that can grow over time.

The Isaac Newton Institute’s Network Support for the Mathematical Sciences scheme, run in partnership with the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research, is designed to help those communities develop.

The scheme provides £5,000 to £10,000 of funding over two years to support mathematical sciences networks across the UK. It can help existing networks continue and expand their activities, as well as supporting the creation of new networks.

Funding can be used for activities including networking, collaboration, travel and community-building across all areas of the mathematical sciences.

More than 50 active networks have been established through INI support since 2022.

The next application deadline is 28 August.

More information here: https://www.newton.ac.uk/events/network-support-for-the-mathematical-sciences/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=network_support_aug_2026&utm_id=aug_2026&utm_source_platform=ini

Apply here:
https://www.newton.ac.uk/events/submit-a-proposal/

Joining an INI research programme can be a powerful opportunity for early-career researchers: time to think, space to collaborate and the chance to become part of an international research community.

Thanks to support from XTX Markets, our new Early-Career Researcher Fellowships and Bursaries scheme supports outstanding researchers to take part in Isaac Newton Institute programmes, helping to reduce barriers to participation and strengthen connections across the mathematical sciences.

The scheme is nomination-only and researchers do not apply directly. Instead, programme organisers nominate eligible early-career researchers who would benefit from, and contribute to, the programme environment.

If you are an early-career researcher, programme organiser or part of an academic network, we encourage you to find out more and share the opportunity with colleagues.

Learn more: https://www.newton.ac.uk/information/fellowships/early-career-researcher-fellowships-bursaries/

We are for a Finance Assistant! 🍏

As an integral part of our team, you will manage day-to-day accounting operations and directly support visiting researchers with per diems and expenses. You'll also be responsible for processing invoices, maintaining audit-ready financial records, and so much more!

📅 Closes: 30 August 2026
🔗 Apply here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/finance-assistant-ln50534

What does a mathematician actually do?

This Open Cambridge event offers a rare opportunity to find out, with a behind-the-scenes tour of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, the Betty & Gordon Moore mathematics library next door, and a fluid mechanics laboratory in the Centre for Mathematical Sciences.

Visitors will explore some of the spaces where mathematical thinking, collaboration and research take place, from the library used by students and researchers to a lab where experiments help us understand how the atmosphere and ocean may change as the climate warms.

It’s a welcoming, hour-long tour for anyone curious about mathematics in action and what life is like inside a research institute.

Only a small number of places remain, so early booking is strongly recommended.

Reserve your place by emailing [email protected].

Full event details:
https://www.opencambridge.cam.ac.uk/events/life-mathematician-tour-newton-institute-mathematics-library-and-fluid-mechanics-lab

What do tiny footballs and traffic cones have to do with wave caustics?

You'll have to watch the lecture on our Seminar Room 1 YouTube channel to find out!

https://www.youtube.com//videos

It was lovely to see a practical demonstration to help visualise how waves will scatter in certain conditions, courtesy of professor John Chapman (Keele University).

Professor Chapman is here as part of our follow-on workshop to the 2023 programme on Mathematical theory and applications of multiple wave scattering.

The wave discussions then radiated out to the coffee breaks and it's been fantastic to see the chalkboards in active use.

AI is often discussed as something that might replace human work. But in mathematics, one of the most exciting possibilities may be collaboration.

A new Plus Magazine article, based on a talk by Professor Geordie Williamson at INI’s AI for Maths and Open Science event, explores the idea of the “centaur phase” of mathematics: human intuition and machine capability working together.

The surprising part is not just that AI can process complex structures. It is that AI can help mathematicians see where to look. In the example discussed, machine learning helped point researchers towards the parts of a mathematical problem that mattered most, while human mathematicians brought the creativity, judgement, and proof.

At INI, we bring leading researchers together to explore important scientific challenges, including how the tools we use are changing the way research is done.

Read the article here:
https://plus.maths.org/enter-centaur

August might usually be associated with summer holidays, but this month we're busier than ever!

Right now, we are hosting over 90 in-person participants across three simultaneous (and totally different) events:

In Seminar Room 1, we've got a workshop exploring multiple wave scattering in locally resonant materials. 🌊
https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/mwsw06/

In Seminar Room 2, participants are diving deep into metastability, critical transitions, and the Earth system. 🌍️
https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/fcpw01/

And in the Discussion Room, we've got our latest research programme kicking off with expert-led masterclasses on operator methods for dynamical systems.📐
https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/omd/

Fortunately, there is plenty of coffee and chalk on hand to keep up the momentum! ☕💡

We’re delighted to welcome Professor Iain Moffatt as Deputy Director of the Isaac Newton Institute.

Professor Moffatt brings exceptional expertise in discrete mathematics, with research spanning algebraic combinatorics, graph theory, topology, matroid theory, knot theory, and graph polynomials. His work reflects the kind of deep, connected mathematical thinking that sits at the heart of INI’s mission.

In this new role, he will help support the Institute’s academic work and its wider contribution to the mathematical sciences community, as we continue to bring researchers together from across the UK and around the world.

We warmly congratulate Professor Moffatt on his appointment and look forward to working with him!

Read the full announcement here:
https://www.newton.ac.uk/news/ini-news/professor-iain-moffatt-appointed-deputy-director-of-the-isaac-newton-institute/