With the announcement the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, it’s time for the latest in our ongoing Honours-watch series of posts. In this, we search arbitrarily for ‘mathematics’ in the PDFs of the various lists, and hope our well-informed readers fill in the blanks where actual knowledge is required.
- Professor David Spiegelhalter FRS, Winton Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk, University of Cambridge, is given a knighthood for services to statistics. David is quoted by his university saying “work on statistics doesn’t usually get much attention, and so it’s a bit of a surprise to get such a great honour for doing things with numbers. And of course I am indebted to all the people that I’ve collaborated with in Cambridge and elsewhere.”
- Jil Matheson, National Statistician, Head of the Government Statistical Service and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority (which includes the Office for National Statistics), is made a Dame for services to Government Statistics.
- Dr Penny Davies, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Strathclyde, is appointed OBE for services to mathematics.
- Professor Denise Lievesley, Professor of Statistics and Head of School of Social Science and Public Policy, King’s College London, is appointed CBE for services to Social Science.
- Fauziah Scarisbrick. Head of the Department of Mathematics, Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, is made MBE for services to education.
- Dr Helen Mason, Reader in Solar Physics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, is appointed OBE for services to higher education and to women in science, engineering and technology.
- Andrew Carter, maths-teacher-turned-headteacher, South Farnham Junior School, is given a knighthood for services to Education.
- Professor Bob Cryan, mathematician-turned-Vice-Chancellor, University of Huddersfield, is made CBE for services to higher education.
Are there any others we’ve missed? Please add any of interest in the comments below. A full list may be obtained from the Cabinet Office website.
The IMA magazine Mathematics Today (vol. 50, no. 4, p. 196) lists as “of mathematical interest” some (but not all!) of these and also has: Prof. David Delpy FRS, Chief Executive of EPSRC, awarded a CBE for services to engineering and scientific research; Prof. David Eastwood DL, VC of University of Birmingham, knighted for services to higher education; and, Prof. John Pethica FRS, Chief Scientific Adviser at National Physical Laboratory and Physical Secretary and Vice-President of the Royal Society, knighted for services to science.