An academic who has worked at St Andrews University for more than two decades has received one of the most prestigious academic honours in the UK by being appointed Regius Chair of Mathematics by the Queen.
Professor Kenneth Falconer, a highly distinguished mathematician, is the university’s most senior member of senate having been a member of the university for nearly a quarter of a century.
One of the oldest and most prestigious chairs in the country, the St Andrews Regius Chair was founded by Charles II in 1668 with the appointment of the celebrated mathematical pioneer James Gregory.
Regius Chairs in Mathematics at Warwick and Oxford Universities were founded in 2013 and 2016 respectively.
Professor Falconer said: “I am deeply honoured to have been appointed to the Regius Chair of Mathematics at St Andrews, a position that has been held by so many distinguished mathematicians over the past 350 years.
“I have hugely enjoyed working in St Andrews for the last 24 years, with many inspirational colleagues, and I look forward to continuing to serve the University in this new role.”
Professor Falconer studied as an undergraduate, a research student and then as Research Fellow at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, later becoming a Lecturer and then a Reader at the University of Bristol before moving to St Andrews in 1993.
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