DAMTP | Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics

The Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics is one of the largest and strongest of its kind in Europe. The Department currently hosts approximately 140 Academic and Research Staff and around 160 PhD students at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, a purpose-built complex in Wilberforce Road, Cambridge.

Research in DAMTP is loosely organised into eight broad subject areas: Applied and Computational Analysis, Astrophysics, Geophysics, Fluid and Solid Mechanics, Mathematical Biology, Quantum Information, High Energy Physics and General Relativity and Cosmology. Many members of staff contribute to more than one area and this is regarded as a key factor in the continuing success of DAMTP. Research in each of the subject areas involves collaboration with strong groups nationally and internationally, and participation in numerous interdisciplinary projects and programmes.

News & Events

Landmark £6m gift from XTX Markets will help fund the next generation of Cambridge mathematicians

A £6 million gift by leading algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets will create more than thirty new PhD and Postdoc opportunities in DPMMS and DAMTP. XTX’s transformative gift is part of its new Early-Career Funding programme, committing more than £26m to boost the number of PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in pure mathematics at seven top UK universities.

XTX Markets' donation to the University of Cambridge will cover a total of 3 years starting October 2026. Around four-fifths of the funding will go to the Department of Pure Maths and Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS), and one-fifth to DAMTP.

Professor Blake Sherwin awarded ERC Consolidator Grant

Blake Sherwin, Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics in DAMTP, is one of eight University of Cambridge researchers sharing a total of €17 million in the European Research Council's (ERC) Consolidator Grants 2025 awards. The grants support mid-career researchers to carry out cutting-edge research projects lasting up to five years.

Blake Sherwin's grant funded project will use the cosmic microwave background, the universe’s oldest light, as a 'backlight' to map where cosmic matter lies and how it moves. This can provide new insights into how the universe began, and will enable the research team to test ideas about how cosmic structure grew.

Professor Raymond Goldstein FRS awarded honorary doctorate by KU Leuven

Ray Goldstein, Alan Turing Professor of Complex Physical Systems in DAMTP, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by KU Leuven, celebrating his pioneering work on the 'physics of life'.

The honorary doctorate will be presented in February 2026, and recognises his work as a bridge builder between different scientific disciplines, in which the perspective of physics gives new impetus to the study of biological processes.

Dr Miles Cranmer awarded Schmidt Sciences AI2050 Early Career Fellowship

Miles Cranmer, Assistant Professor of Data Intensive Science in DAMTP and the IoA, has been announced as a Schmidt Sciences AI2050 Early Career Fellow.

He is one of 28 researchers worldwide who are collectively being awarded more than $18 million to advance AI’s potential for the benefit of humanity.

Dr Lorenzo Gavassino awarded APS 2026 George E Valley Jr Prize

Lorenzo Gavassino has been awarded the American Physical Society's 2026 George E. Valley Jr. Prize. The prize is awarded each year to an early-career individual for an outstanding scientific contribution to physics that is deemed to have significant potential for a dramatic impact on the field.

The award recognises his contributions to the field of relativistic viscous fluid dynamics that settled longstanding questions about the relation between stability and causality.

Professor Carola-Bibiane Schönlieb invited to speak at ICM 2026

Congratulations to Carola-Bibiane Schönlieb, Professor of Applied Mathematics in DAMTP, who has been invited to speak at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in 2026.

The ICM is held every four years and represents the largest global gathering of mathematicians across all subjects, reflecting the vast diversity of today’s mathematics. The ICM sees the award of some of the most important prizes in mathematics, including the Fields Medal. Invited speakers are selected to reflect outstanding achievements in their fields.

Professor Gary Gibbons FRS awarded Dirac Medal

Gary Gibbons, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, has been awarded the 2025 Dirac Medal for his part in 'turning black holes into windows onto the deepest laws of nature'.

The Dirac Medal is awarded every year by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, and is named after Paul Dirac, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge from 1932 to 1969. Gary Gibbons shares the Medal with Gary Horowitz (University of California Santa Barbara), Roy Kerr (University of Canterbury in New Zealand), and Robert Wald (University of Chicago.)