New Minds, New Frontiers

In the previous section, we explored the scientific journeys and research visions of Professors Nicolas DAUPHAS and Bing ZHANG, whose work in astrophysics and planetary sciences continues to expand our understanding of the Universe and its origins. The Faculty’s recent wave of distinguished appointments also extends well beyond these fields, bringing together scholars whose ideas are reshaping how we understand data, matter, and even human health.

In the following pages, we turn to several of these newly appointed Chair Professors and global scientific leaders. Within the Department of Physics, Nobel Laureate Sir Andre GEIM celebrated for the discovery of graphene, continues to push the boundaries of condensed-matter physics through bold, curiosity driven experimentation that has reshaped our understanding of materials at the atomic scale. Nobel Laureate Professor Ferenc KRAUSZ is pioneering ways to harness attosecond light to detect the earliest molecular signatures of disease, opening new possibilities for preventive medicine.

In the Department of Mathematics, Fields Medalist Professor Bảo Châu NGÔ, whose proof of the Fundamental Lemma transformed the Langlands programme, represents one of the most influential intellectual forces in contemporary mathematics, advancing deep connections across number theory, geometry, and representation theory. Professor Hà Văn VŨ utilises combinatorics, probability, and random matrix theory to explore how structure emerges from noisy data, addressing the fundamental questions that underpin modern algorithms and artificial intelligence.

This new cohort of scholars does more than strengthen a spectrum of disciplines. They bring fresh ideas and ambitions that will lead the way into the Faculty’s next phase of intellectual growth.