Bristol researcher strikes gold for mathematics display in Parliament

Dr David Platt, Professor Nicholas Woodhouse, President of the Clay Mathematics Institute, and Andrew Miller MP, Chair of the Commons Select Committee for Science and Technology

Press release issued: 17 March 2014

Dr David Platt, a researcher at the University of Bristol, struck gold at a competition in the House of Commons today, for the excellence of his mathematical research.

David presented his mathematics research to dozens of politicians and a panel of expert judges, as part of the poster competition SET for Britain.

His research, proving Goldbach’s weak conjecture – an area within pure mathematics - was judged against 29 other shortlisted researchers’ work and came out on top, walking away with a £3,000 prize.

David, from the School of Mathematics, said, “The standard of the posters was fantastic and to be judged the best is a great honour.”

SET for Britain aims to help politicians understand more about the UK’s thriving science and engineering base and rewards some of the strongest scientific and engineering research being undertaken in the UK.

Professor Nicholas Woodhouse, President of the Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI), sponsors of the Gold Mathematical Sciences award, said, “CMI is delighted to support the inaugural SET for Britain Mathematical Sciences exhibition. The Institute is dedicated to increasing and disseminating mathematical knowledge and supports the work of leading researchers throughout the world at various stages of their careers. The future of mathematics in the UK is both challenging and exciting and we believe it is essential to nurture the best technical talent”.

The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee run the event in collaboration with the Council for Mathematical Sciences, the Institute of Physics, The Physiological Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Society of Biology and the Society of Chemical Industry, with financial support from BP, the Clay Mathematics Institute, Essar, INEOS, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), Germains Seed Technology, Boeing, the Bank of England and the Institute of Biomedical Science.