Case study: Sir Andrew Wiles

Royal Society Research Professor
Mathematical Institute, The University of Oxford

‘Receiving the Royal Society Research Professorship enabled me to return to the UK, and allowed me to focus on research free from most administrative duties. This has given me the opportunity to devote myself to very long-term projects free from distraction. I feel that it is in this situation that I am most productive and in which I can contribute most to my field. 

There are now a great many very talented young mathematicians in number theory, and particularly in the area of number theory in which I am working. However it seems to happen that periodically roadblocks appear that seem insurmountable and I most enjoy the challenge of tackling these questions, which most people tend to avoid. This is what I have been doing with the support of the Royal Society.’ Sir Andrew Wiles FRS, Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Oxford. A Royal Society Research Professor since 2009, Sir Andrew is a mathematician working in number theory, and is best known for his proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem.