The majority of research in UoA 20 Pure Mathematics is officially classified as world-leading, internationally excellent or recognised internationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour, having been placed in the three highest categories for quality in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.
| Quality Level | 4* | 3* | 2* | 1* | Unclassified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of research activity | 5 | 30 | 60 | 5 | 0 |
Pure Mathematics is one of three sections in the School of Mathematics and Statistics, and there are ten members of staff, all of whom are submitted to RAE2008.
Within pure mathematics, our research themes include:
We are active within the regional, national and international mathematical community. Since the 1960s we have been a central node in the North British Functional Analysis Seminar, involving 14 universities. The North British Geometric Group Theory Seminar was founded in Newcastle in 2003; now involving nine universities, it is funded by both LMS and EMS. Newcastle has also become a node in the LMS funded, Algebras and Representation Theory in the North, and will host a two-day event in 2007.
In 2006, Newcastle hosted the British Mathematical Colloquium, attracting over 200 participants. In 2004, it hosted both an international geometric group theory workshop attached to the annual LMS northern meeting, with around 100 participants, and the International Workshop on Operator Theory and Applications (IWOTA), with around 150 participants.
Newcastle is a member of the Sheffield based MAGIC consortium, which launches its full programme in autumn 2007 to provide PhD level lecture courses across the spectrum of pure mathematics, using state of the art distance learning techniques.
Since 2001, Newcastle has hosted two LMS funded postgraduate conferences, one attached to the BMC, the other an annual Postgraduate Group Theory conference.
The excellent, award winning, University's Robinson Library houses the main mathematics collection, with a selection of journals including electronic access to many journals and MathSciNet for all staff and postgraduates. Two full-time computing officers support colleagues and maintain the School Linux and Windows networks.
This year the University supported the work of the School by providing new accommodation, investing £3.5m (SRIF funding) in the complete refurbishment. Integral new facilities include access to grid technology, which is used for the MAGIC postgraduate education programme.