OU academics among Fellows appointed by National Academy for Mathematical Sciences

Posted on 4 February 2026 • Science, maths, computing and technology

The Academy for the Mathematical Sciences (AcadMathSci) has appointed its inaugural cohort of Fellows, including two academics from The Open University (OU), with a vision to bring together the UK’s strongest mathematicians to help solve some of the nation’s biggest challenges.

Professor Gwyneth Stallard OBE and Professor June Barrow-Green from the OU joined the cohort of Fellows to be recognised as leaders in their fields through fundamental discoveries, exceptional work in education, or driving the application of mathematics across society as part of our critical national infrastructure.

Gwyneth Stallard is Professor of Pure Mathematics at the OU, where she is the university’s Academic Lead for Athena Swan, and Deputy Head of School with a particular interest in supporting the career development of staff. She led the School’s Athena SWAN work from 2013 to 2022; the School received a Bronze award in 2014, renewed in 2017, and a Silver award in 2022.

She has a long-standing interest in the issues surrounding women’s careers in mathematics and chaired the London Mathematical Society’s (LMS) Women in Mathematics Committee from 2006 to 2015. This work was recognised by the award of an OBE in 2015 and a Suffrage Science award in 2016. She was a Diversity Champion on the EPSRC Mathematical Sciences SAT from 2022 to 2024.

Her research is in the area of complex dynamics and concerns the iteration of transcendental meromorphic functions with a particular focus on the possible dimensions of the Julia set, the structure of the escaping set and the behaviour of wandering domains. She was awarded an LMS Whitehead Prize in 2000.

June Barrow-Green is Professor Emerita of History of Mathematics at OU and a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics. Her research interests concern a range of 19th and 20th-century mathematics, including the history of dynamical systems and the historical representation of women in mathematics.

June was Chair of the International Commission on the History of Mathematics from 2017 to 2025, a member of the LMS Council and LMS Librarian from 2007 to 2018, and President of the British Society for the History of Mathematics from 2003 to 2005. She was awarded the Royal Society Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal in 2021 and the LMS/BSHM Hirst Prize in 2025.

The Fellows will continue to perform their roles in other institutions but will come together through the convening power of the Academy to help benefit the whole UK. You can read the full announcement from the Academy, including areas of focus for the Fellows, here.

June and Gwyneth commented on their selection:

“It is a great honour to be selected as a Fellow of the Academy, and we are excited by the opportunity to contribute to the Academy’s work in championing the mathematical sciences across society.”

Lord Vallance KCB FRS FMedSci FRCP HonFREng, Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), said:

“Mathematics sits at the heart of the UK’s scientific and technological strength and is essential to the development of the industries of the future, in exciting fields like AI and quantum.

“The Academy for the Mathematical Sciences’ inaugural Fellows represent the very best of this national capability, and I commend the Academy for bringing them together. Their expertise strengthens our security, boosts productivity and supports high‑quality jobs across the country, so it is only right that they are celebrated.”

Professor Dame Alison Etheridge DBE FRS, the President of the Academy for Mathematical Sciences, said:

“I’m delighted to welcome our inaugural Fellows — individuals of exceptional distinction who collectively advance the mathematical sciences through discovery, leadership, education and real-world application.

“As Fellows of the Academy, they will come together in service of the wider public good: bringing independent expertise to bear on national priorities, championing excellence in mathematics education, strengthening the UK’s research and innovation base, and helping to ensure that mathematics continues to deliver opportunity, resilience and prosperity across our four nations.”