Who is Richard Elwes?

Richard Elwes does things with maths. I write about it, research it, talk about it, teach it, and sometimes sing about it.

I have written six books, most recently Huge Numbers (Basic Books, April 2026).

Affiliations:

I am an Associate Professor of Mathematics at University of Leeds, UK
I am a member of the London Mathematical Society, and was a Holgate Session Leader 2019-2025.
I am a member of the European Mathematical Society, and was the publicity officer 2015-2024.
I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
I am a member of the British Society for the History of Mathematics.
I am a member of the Association of British Science Writers.
I am a member of the British Logic Colloquium.

Potted biography:

Since 2011 – Teaching and Researching at the University of Leeds. I work at the University of Leeds as an Associate Professor, where I have taught courses including Geometry, Number Theory, Algebraic Topology, Combinatorics, Logic, History of Maths, Computational Mathematics, and Discrete Mathematics. In terms of research, I am interested in the evolution of complex and nonlinear systems, in models of random networks, and in connections to mathematical logic.

2009-2011, Visiting Fellowship at the University of Leeds. During this time I primarily worked as a mathematical writer, also doing some research in Model Theory, an area which bridges mathematical logic and algebra.

2008-2009, Postgraduate Certificate in Education. I obtained a PGCE in teaching secondary mathematics at the University of Leeds’ School of Education, including teaching experience in two Yorkshire secondary schools.

2006, Postdoctoral Scholarship at Albert-Ludwigs Universität. In the beautiful surroundings of Freiburg in the south of Germany, I did some research in Model Theory with the group led by Martin Ziegler.

2001-2005, Postgraduate Student at the University of Leeds. My PhD Thesis is entitled Dimension and Measure In Finite First Order Structures and was supervised by the wonderful Dugald Macpherson.

1997-2001, Undergraduate Student at the University of Oxford. Mathematics MMath, 1st Class Honours, and I had a lot of fun along the way. Among many inspirational teachers were Peter Neumann, Martin Edwards, and Richard Earl.

What else can I tell you?

I play the piano to a moderate standard, and occasionally the bass, as well as singing when I can’t find a stand-in. I speak Japanese at an intermediate level. My Erdős number is 3. My mathematical genealogy traces back to Leonhard Euler apparently! I don’t like cricket, I love it, but I am not very good at it. I was born in 1978, grew up in London and am now settled in Leeds in the UK, where I live with my wonderful wife and three children.