Andrew Philip Hodges (; born 1949) is a British

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

senior research fellow at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

Education

Hodges was born in London in 1949 and educated at

Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

, where he was awarded his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degree in 1975 for research on

twistor theory In theoretical physics, twistor theory was proposed by Roger Penrose in 1967 as a possible path to quantum gravity and has evolved into a branch of theoretical and mathematical physics. Penrose proposed that twistor space should be the basic arena ...

supervised by

Roger Penrose Sir Roger Penrose (born 8 August 1931) is an English mathematician, mathematical physicist, philosopher of science and Nobel Laureate in Physics. He is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics in the University of Oxford, an emeritus fello ...

Career and research

Since the early 1970s, Hodges has worked on

, which is the approach to the problems of fundamental physics pioneered by

. He was also involved in the gay liberation movement during this time. Hodges is best known as the author of '' Alan Turing: The Enigma'', his biography of the British computer pioneer and codebreaker

Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...

. The book was critically acclaimed when it was first published in 1983, with

Donald Michie Donald Michie (; 11 November 1923 – 7 July 2007) was a British researcher in artificial intelligence. During World War II, Michie worked for the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, contributing to the effort to solve " Tunny ...

in ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...

'' calling it "marvellous and faithful". In June 2002 it was chosen by

Michael Holroyd Sir Michael de Courcy Fraser Holroyd (born 27 August 1935) is an English biographer. Early life and education Holroyd was born in London, the son of Basil de Courcy Fraser Holroyd (a descendant of Sir George Sowley Holroyd, Justice of the King' ...

for inclusion in a list of 50 "essential" books (available in print at the time) in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. ''Alan Turing: The Enigma'' formed the basis of

Hugh Whitemore Hugh John Whitemore (16 June 1936 – 17 July 2018) was an English playwright and screenwriter. Biography Whitemore studied for the stage at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he was taught by Peter Barkworth, then on the staff at RADA ...

's 1986 stage play '' Breaking the Code'', which was adapted for television in 1996, with

Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King ...

as Turing. The book was later made into the 2014 film '' The Imitation Game'' directed by

Morten Tyldum Morten Tyldum (; born 19 May 1967) is a Norwegian film director. He is best known in his native Norway for directing the thriller film '' Headhunters'' (2011), based on the novel by Jo Nesbø, and internationally for directing the historical drama ...

, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as

. The script for ''The Imitation Game'' won Graham Moore an Oscar for

Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

87th Academy Awards The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2014 in film, films of 2014 and took place on February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, ...

in 2015. Hodges is also the author of works that popularise science and mathematics. He is an emeritus tutorial

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

in mathematics at

. Having taught at Wadham since 1986, Hodges was elected a Fellow in 2007, and was appointed Dean of Wadham College from the start of the 2011/2012 academic year. In 2014 he joined the

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

on stage at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

for a standing ovation following the world premiere of ''A Man from the Future'' at The Proms.

Publications

* ''With Downcast Gays: Aspects of Homosexual Self-Oppression'', * '' Alan Turing: The Enigma'' Alan Turing: The Enigma Vintage edition 1992, first published by Burnett Books Ltd, 1983. * ''One to Nine: The Inner Life of Numbers''One to Nine: The Inner Life of Numbers Short Books, London, 2007.

References

1949 births Living people Writers from London Mathematicians from London English science writers English biographers British gay writers Fellows of Wadham College, Oxford English LGBT writers Alan Turing 20th-century British biographers {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub