Professor Ruth King, Bayes Centre Director and Thomas Bayes' Chair of Statistics at the School of Mathematics, has been appointed as an inaugural Fellow of the Academy for Mathematical Sciences. Bayes Centre Director, Professor Ruth King. She joins a group of 100 leading mathematicians selected from across academia, education, business, industry and government to address some of the UK's most critical challenges, ranging from pandemic preparedness and national security to quantum and safe AI. The Academy aims to put “maths at the heart of national life and policy making” and noteworthy members include Anne Keast-Butler, Director of GCHQ; James Maynard, a Fields Medalist and Professor at the University of Oxford; and David Silver, Vice President of Reinforcement Learning at Google DeepMind, among others. The list also includes a further five Fellows from across the University of Edinburgh; Professor Christopher Dent (School of Mathematics), Professor Miguel Anjos (School of Mathematics), Minhyong Kim (Director of the International Centre for Mathematics Sciences, School of Mathematics), Professor Steven Tobias (School of Physics & Astronomy) and Professor Thanasis Tsanas (Usher Institute). As Director of the Bayes Centre, Professor King has continually emphasised the importance of mathematics and data in enhancing the UK’s scientific, technological, and economic landscapes. I am both excited and honoured to be elected as an inaugural Fellow to the Academy. The Mathematical Sciences plays an increasingly important role across all areas of society, providing the rigorous foundation that supports data-driven innovation leading to economic growth and positive societal impact. Professor King is internationally recognised for her contributions to statistical ecology and multiple systems estimation. Her research primarily focuses on developing new statistical techniques to address challenges arising from real-world data to provide meaningful insight into the application under study, working closely with domain experts to ensure relevant statistical innovation and impact. Meet the inaugural Fellows of the Academy of Mathematical Sciences here. Publication date 27 Jan, 2026
