Championing Mathematical Physics in Edinburgh

Professor Steve Tobias appointed Tait Chair of Mathematical Physics.

Professor Steve Tobias has been appointed the next Tait Chair of Mathematical Physics and will commence his post in June 2025.

Fluid dynamics

Professor Tobias’ research examines the dynamics of turbulent fluids and plasmas and their interaction with magnetic fields. Such interactions are important for our understanding of the behaviour of fluids in planets, stars and galaxies – but also in magnetically confined fusion devices. The interactions take place on a vast range of spatial and temporal scales and so novel mathematical and theoretical insights and computational methods are required for progress to be made. Recent progress has also utilised Machine Learning techniques to complement the theoretical progress.

Professor Tobias completed his PhD in Applied Mathematics in 1995 at DAMTP, Cambridge under the supervision of Professor Nigel Weiss FRS. He was then elected a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge in Mathematics in 1996, before 2 years as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA. In 2000 he moved to the Department of Applied Mathematics in Leeds, where he was Founding Director of the Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics in 2018.

Tait Chair of Mathematical Physics

The identification of Mathematical Physics as a discipline distinct from physics and mathematics in Edinburgh began in 1922 when the Tait Chair of Natural Philosophy was established using the Tait Memorial Fund endowment. The Chair was named after Peter Guthrie Tait, a close colleague of William Thomson and James Clerk Maxwell, and the intention was thus that it should be devoted to the teaching of mathematical physics. In 1966, it was renamed and is now called the Tait Chair of Mathematical Physics. Professor Tobias is the sixth holder of the Tait Chair, following Charles Galton Darwin (grandson of the eminent naturalist), Max Born, Nick Kemmer, David Wallace, and most recently Richard Kenway.

Professor Tobias said:

I am absolutely delighted and honoured to take up the Tait Chair in Mathematical Physics at the University of Edinburgh. The School of Physics and Astronomy in Edinburgh is one of the leading schools nationally and internationally, and it is a privilege to be asked to lead research and teaching in nonlinear dynamics, fluids and plasmas here. I am looking forward immensely to working with the exceptional colleagues and students at Edinburgh.