John Toland (mathematician) explained

John Toland
Birth Date:1949 4, df=yes
Alma Mater:Queen's University Belfast
University of Sussex
Thesis Title:Topological Methods for Nonlinear Eigenvalue Problems
Thesis Url:http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.475332
Thesis Year:1973
Doctoral Advisor:Charles A. Stuart

John Francis Toland FRS FRSE (born 28 April 1949 in Derry) is an Irish mathematician based in the UK. From 2011 to 2016 he served as Director of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences and N M Rothschild & Sons Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge.

Education

Toland was educated at St Columb's College in Derry and Queen's University Belfast where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in 1970. He completed postgraduate study at the University of Sussex where he was awarded a PhD in 1973[1] for research on topological methods for nonlinear eigenvalue problems supervised by Charles A. Stuart.

Career and research

From 1982 to 2011 he was Professor of Mathematics at the University of Bath where he held an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Senior Fellowship 1997–2002. In addition from 2002 to 2010 he was Scientific Director of the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS) in Edinburgh.[2] [3] In 2011 he succeeded Sir David Wallace as Director of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences and N M Rothschild & Sons Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge.[4] In 2016 he was succeeded as Director by Professor David Abrahams.[5] His research interests include mathematical analysis and nonlinear partial differential equations with particular interest in the rigorous theory of steady water waves. In 1978, he proved George Gabriel Stokes' conjecture on the existence of gravity waves of maximum height on deep water, a previously open problem in mathematical hydrodynamics which dated back to the 19th century.[6] [7]

Awards and honours

He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1999,[8] and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) in 2003. He was awarded the London Mathematical Society's Senior Berwick Prize in 2000;[9] and the Royal Society's Sylvester Medal in 2012.[10]

He is an Honorary Fellow of University College London[11] and was a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge October 2011 – September 2016.[12]

Notes and References

  1. PhD. University of Sussex. Topological Methods for Nonlinear Eigenvalue Problems. John Francis. Toland. 1973. 500579955.
  2. Web site: Management Structure . ICMS . https://web.archive.org/web/20070103011754/http://icms.org.uk/managementStructure.php . dead . 2007-01-03 . 19 September 2007.
  3. Web site: Officers and Council . LMS . 19 September 2007.
  4. Web site: Professor John Toland FRS FRSE. Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences. Isaac Newton Institute. 22 August 2011. 2 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120702213645/http://www.newton.ac.uk/history/toland.html. dead.
  5. Web site: Professor David Abrahams. newton.ac.uk.
  6. Toland . J. F. . On the Existence of a Wave of Greatest Height and Stokes's Conjecture . Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences . 363 . 1715 . 469–485 . 1978 . 1978RSPSA.363..469T . 10.1098/rspa.1978.0178 . 120444295 .
  7. Web site: Petrunic . Josipa . George Gabriel Stokes . Gifford Lecture Series . Templeton Foundation Press . 24 September 2007.
  8. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20151117001502/https://royalsociety.org/people/john-toland-12423/ . 17 November 2015 . Professor John Toland FRS . royalsociety.org . London . Anon . 1999 . One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:
  9. Web site: Citation for John Francis Toland . LMS . 2000 . 19 September 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051026060128/http://www.lms.ac.uk/activities/prizes_com/citations00/toland.html . 26 October 2005 . dead . dmy-all .
  10. Web site: Sylvester Medal. Royal Society.
  11. Web site: Honorary Fellows of UCL. Tel: +4420 7679 2000. University College London-Gower Street- London- WC1E 6BT. www.ucl.ac.uk. en. 2019-01-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20161120215645/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/srs/governance-and-committees/committees/hdfc/honorary-fellows. 20 November 2016. dead.
  12. Web site: J F Toland's home page. bath.ac.uk. University of Bath. https://web.archive.org/web/20140307011732/http://www.maths.bath.ac.uk/~masjft/. 7 March 2014. Bath.