Areas of Research

A very wide spectrum of research in mathematics and in its applications is covered by the Maxwell Institute. For convenience, the 11 research areas described below have been identified. The boundaries between these are however highly permeable.

RAE 2008 Results

Unit	4*	3*	2*	1*	Staff FTE
Pure Mathematics	25%	45%	30%	0%	41
Applied Mathematics	15%	50%	30%	5%	35.5
Statistics	10%	35%	45%	10%	30

What do the figures mean? These profiles are the result of assessing up to 4 research outputs (normally refereed papers) per person and giving them a star rating, with 4* the highest, corresponding to an outstanding publication of 'world-leading originality, significance and rigour' and 3* corresponding to a publication of 'international excellence'. The profiles give the proportion of publications with the different star ratings, rounded to the nearest 5%. This is a slight oversimplification since other factors were included in the assessment, but the quality of research publications was the major factor.

These profiles can be interpreted in different ways. One thing that is clear is that Pure Mathematics has consolidated its 5* rating awarded in the 2001 RAE. In fact this group comes in the top six in any of the standard UK league tables and is well ahead of its nearest rival in Scotland.

The total volume of high-quality research in the Maxwell Institute can be measured by adding the 3* and 4* percentages and multiplying by the number of staff assessed. On this measure, Pure Mathematics is third in the UK (behind Oxford and Cambridge) and both Applied and Stats/OR are fifth.