Professor Marcus du Sautoy is the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the study of symmetry through zeta functions, a classical tool from number theory, and draws on a broad array of approaches including p-adic Lie groups, model theory, algebraic geometry, and analytic methods. A former Fellow of All Souls College and Wadham College, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of New College, and an EPSRC Senior Media Fellow.
Du Sautoy has a distinguished profile in science communication across print, digital, and broadcast media. He is a regular contributor to The Times, The Independent, and The Guardian, and has written and presented numerous television programmes and series for BBC Two and BBC Four, including Precision: The Measure of All Things (2013), The Code (2011), and The Story of Maths (2008). He is also a frequent guest on Dara O’Briain’s School of Hard Sums.
His contributions to mathematics and public engagement have been recognised with several major honours. In 2001, he received the London Mathematical Society’s Berwick Prize, and in 2009 he was awarded the Royal Society’s Faraday Prize, the UK’s leading award for excellence in communicating science. He was appointed OBE for services to science in the 2010 New Year Honours and will serve as a judge for the 2026 International Booker Prize.
Du Sautoy is the author of nine books and two plays. His publications explore themes spanning mathematics, creativity, and the interface between humans and machines. They include The Num8er My5teries: A Mathematical Odyssey Through Everyday Life, Symmetry: A Journey into the Patterns of Nature, Thinking Better: The Art of the Shortcut in Math and Life, and the best-selling The Creativity Code. His most recent book, Blueprints: How Mathematics Shapes Creativity, examines the mathematical foundations of creative processes.
He wrote and performed the play I is a Strange Loop, staged at venues including the Barbican in London, and his second play, The Axiom of Choice, toured India in 2024. Du Sautoy collaborates widely with arts organisations, from the Royal Opera House to the Glastonbury Festival, bringing mathematics and science to life for diverse audiences.
