Professor James Maynard FRS has been appointed Oxford's new Regius Professor of Mathematics, following a royal approval that has sparked widespread acclaim within the academic community. The respected number theorist will take over from celebrated Professor Sir Andrew Wiles on 1st July 2026.
A leading figure in his field, Professor Maynard earned his BA and 'Part III' in Mathematics from Queens' College, Cambridge in 2009 before pursuing a DPhil at Oxford in 2013. This was followed by a prestigious Clay Fellowship at the institution, where he also held a position as a Fellow by Examination at Magdalen College between 2013 and 2017.
Internationally respected for his research, Professor Maynard has maintained affiliations with institutions such as Montreal, Berkeley, and Princeton's Institute of Advanced Study. Since 2018, he has served as a Professor of Number Theory at Oxford and is a member of St John's College.
His work in analytic number theory has been instrumental in advancing the understanding of prime numbers – fundamental to both pure and applied mathematics, particularly in cryptography. His research prowess has been acknowledged through notable awards: the Whitehead Prize (2015), European Mathematical Society Prize (2016), Cole Prize in Number Theory (2020) and, most notably, the Fields Medal in 2022 for "contributions to analytic number theory which have led to major advances in understanding the structure of prime numbers and Diophantine approximation."
His election to esteemed institutions such as the Academia Europaea (2020), a Fellow of the Royal Society (2023), and founding Fellow of the Academy of Mathematical Sciences (2026) further solidifies his standing within the scientific community. This appointment underscores Oxford's dedication to maintaining its position at the forefront of mathematical research and education.