Ian Stewart is a mathematician who is best-known for engaging the public with mathematics and science through his many bestselling books, newspaper and magazine articles, and radio and television appearances. Ian’s accessible and entertaining style of writing has opened up a range of hard-to-fathom topics — including chaos theory and symmetry — to general audiences.
As an Emeritus Professor at the University of Warwick, Ian splits his time between mathematics research and work to increase awareness of mathematics and science. His research themes cover bifurcation theory, pattern formation and biomathematics, and he has made important contributions to catastrophe theory.
Ian has won a number of prizes for his efforts to further the public’s understanding of science, including the Royal Society’s Michael Faraday Prize in 1995, the 2001 AAAS Public Understanding of Science and Technology Award, the London Mathematical Society’s Zeeman Medal, and Rockefeller University’s Lewis Thomas Prize for writing about science. He has also co-authored four popular science books based on Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, as well as himself being a critically acclaimed science fiction author.
Subject groups
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Mathematics
Applied mathematics and theoretical physics
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Other
Public understanding of science
Awards
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Michael Faraday Prize and Lecture
For his work in communicating mathematical ideas to the widest possible range of audiences through his many thought-provoking books and magazine articles, his radio and television presentations, and his energetic public lectures in schools and industry on a variety of mathematical and quasi-mathematical topics.
