Robert Sinclair MacKay (born 1956) is a British mathematician and professor at the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

. He researches dynamical systems, the calculus of variations,

Hamiltonian dynamics Hamiltonian mechanics emerged in 1833 as a reformulation of Lagrangian mechanics. Introduced by Sir William Rowan Hamilton, Hamiltonian mechanics replaces (generalized) velocities \dot q^i used in Lagrangian mechanics with (generalized) ''momenta ...

and applications to complex systems in physics, engineering, chemistry, biology and economics.

Education

MacKay was educated at Newcastle High School, leaving in 1974. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree with first class honours in mathematics at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

in 1977, and completed Part III of the

tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

with distinction in 1978. He obtained his PhD in astrophysical sciences in 1982 from the Plasma Physics Laboratory at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

for research supervised by John M. Greene and

Martin David Kruskal Martin David Kruskal (; September 28, 1925 – December 26, 2006) was an American mathematician and physicist. He made fundamental contributions in many areas of mathematics and science, ranging from plasma physics to general relativity and ...

Career and research

Between 1982 and 1995, MacKay held

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

positions at

Queen Mary College , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

, London, the

Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

, and the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

. From 1995 to 2000 he was Professor of Nonlinear Dynamics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, Director of the Nonlinear Centre, and Fellow of Trinity College. In 2000 he returned to Warwick as Professor of Mathematics and Director of Mathematical Interdisciplinary Research.

Awards and honours

MacKay was awarded the Stefanos Pnevmatikos International Award in 1992. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2000. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: In 2012 he was elected President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

Personal life

MacKay was born to

Donald MacCrimmon MacKay Donald MacCrimmon MacKay (9 August 1922 – 6 February 1987) was a British physicist, and professor at the Department of Communication and Neuroscience at Keele University in Staffordshire, England, known for his contributions to information theo ...

and Valerie MacKay (née Wood) in 1956. His younger brother

David J. C. MacKay Professor Sir David John Cameron MacKay (22 April 1967 – 14 April 2016) was a British physicist, mathematician, and academic. He was the Regius Professor of Engineering in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge and f ...

FRS was the Regius Professor of Engineering at the University of Cambridge.

References

Living people 20th-century British mathematicians 21st-century British mathematicians Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Institute of Physics People educated at Newcastle-under-Lyme School Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Cambridge Princeton University alumni 1956 births {{UK-mathematician-stub