Duncan Austin Lawson 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 ...

known for work in mathematics education including university-wide mathematics and statistics support.

Early life and education

Lawson attended Bury Grammar School and later obtained a BA and D.Phil. from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Career

Lawson worked for

British Gas plc British Gas plc was an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It was formed when the British Gas Corporation was privatised as a result of the Gas Act 1986, instigated by the government of Margaret Thatcher and superseding the G ...

before moving to Coventry University in 1987. His research interests are in efficient computational methods for the calculation of thermal radiative heat transfer. From 2005-10 Lawson with Tony Croft established the sigma Centre for Excellence in University-wide mathematics and statistics support, which was awarded the 2011 Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Support for Students. The Centre later developed under the National HE STEM Programme into the sigma Network for Excellence in Mathematics and Statistics Support. Lawson was awarded National Teaching Fellowship in 2005. Lawson also acted as Assistant Chief Executive of the

Higher Education Academy Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) is a British charity and professional membership scheme promoting excellence in higher education. It advocates evidence-based teaching methods and awards fellowships as professional recogniti ...

from 2012-13. Lawson was professor and associate dean of the faculty of science and engineering at

Coventry University , mottoeng = By Art and Industry , established = , type = Public , endowment = £28 million (2015) , budget = £787.5 million , chancellor = Margaret Casely-Hayford , vice_chancellor = John Latham , students = () , undergr ...

(2002–13), director of the Maths, Stats & OR Network of the

(2005-9), and chair of the executive group of the More Maths Grads project (2008–10). From 2013-18, Lawson was pro-vice-chancellor of formative education at Newman University in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, before returning to Coventry. Lawson received the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications' Gold Medal in 2016 jointly with Croft for "an outstanding contribution to the improvement of the teaching of mathematics" by establishing sigma. Lawson was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2019 Birthday Honours The 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as ...

for services to mathematics in higher education. Lawson is currently Director of the sigma maths support centre at Coventry University.

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Duncan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of the University of Oxford 20th-century British mathematicians 21st-century British mathematicians Academics of Coventry University Members of the Order of the British Empire