Richard Thomas (mathematician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Thomas
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| Born |
Richard Paul Winsley Thomas
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| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
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| Awards | Whitehead Prize (2004) Veblen Prize (2025) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Imperial College London |
| Thesis | Gauge Theory on Calabi-Yau Manifolds (1997) |
| Doctoral advisor | Simon Donaldson |
Richard Paul Winsley Thomas is a British mathematician. He works on different areas of geometry, which is a branch of mathematics that studies shapes, sizes, positions, and properties of space. He is a professor at Imperial College London. He looks at special math problems called 'moduli problems' in algebraic geometry. He also studies 'mirror symmetry', which is a cool idea in pure mathematics that comes from string theory in theoretical physics.
Richard Thomas's Education
Richard Thomas earned his PhD in 1997 from the University of Oxford. His main teacher was Simon Donaldson, a famous mathematician. For his PhD, he studied something called 'gauge theory' on special shapes known as Calabi–Yau manifolds. In his research, he helped create the idea of 'Donaldson–Thomas invariants.' These are important numbers used to describe Calabi-Yau shapes, and they are key in both geometry and the math behind string theory.
Career and Discoveries
Before he joined Imperial College, Richard Thomas worked at other important places. He was at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He also spent time at Harvard University and the University of Oxford. In 2005, he became a professor of pure mathematics.
Thomas has made many important contributions to different types of geometry. These include algebraic geometry, differential geometry, and symplectic geometry. His PhD work, which introduced the Donaldson-Thomas invariants, was published in a top math journal.
He also worked with other mathematicians on interesting problems. For example, with Shing-Tung Yau, he came up with the 'Thomas–Yau conjecture.' This is a guess about finding a special type of shape inside another complex shape. He also worked with Rahul Pandharipande to improve the Donaldson-Thomas invariants for counting curves. With Martijn Kool and Vivek Shende, he used these improved invariants to solve a very old math problem called the 'Göttsche conjecture.'
Richard Thomas also helped write a book about mirror symmetry. He has written notes to explain complex math ideas like 'derived categories' and 'curve counting' to others. He even appeared in a documentary film called 'Thinking Space.' He has played a big part in helping geometry grow in the UK and encouraging younger mathematicians. His colleague, Simon Donaldson, said that thanks to Richard Thomas, Imperial College now has one of the main centers for geometry research.
Awards and Honours
Richard Thomas has received many awards for his work.
- In 2004, he won the London Mathematical Society's Whitehead Prize. This award recognized his important contributions across many areas of mathematics. The award statement said his work was "seminal," meaning very original and influential. It also noted how his work connects to mathematical physics, especially through mirror symmetry.
- He also received the Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2004.
- In 2010, he was given the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award.
- Also in 2010, he was invited to speak at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Hyderabad. This is a very big event for mathematicians worldwide. He gave a talk about mirror symmetry.
- In 2015, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honour for scientists in the UK.
- In 2018, he was chosen as a fellow of the American Mathematical Society.
- For 2025, he was awarded the Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry, which he shared with Soheyla Feyzbakhsh. This is a major award in geometry.
