Professor Michael Magee leads groundbreaking research in pure mathematics at Durham University. His work focuses on proving theorems through rigorous logical systems, quite differently from approaches in physical sciences.
Michael studied for his undergraduate degree Cambridge University, during which time the complexity and achievements of pure maths, along with its enduring impact across generations of mathematicians, that captivated him.
After studying for his PhD at UC Santa Cruz, Michael secured prestigious positions at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study and Yale University.
Upon returning to the UK in 2017, Michael joined Durham University. He was attracted by professional opportunities and saw the region as an ideal location to establish roots and start a family.
Over the course of his career, Michael has made significant contributions to the field of pure maths.
He has been instrumental in collaborations to develop techniques for integration over moduli spaces. His work has also solved problems in number theory using ideas from thermodynamics.
Alongside his former PhD student Will Hide, Michael discovered important connections between two mathematical areas: hyperbolic surfaces and operator algebras. This finding sparked new research directions across different mathematical communities and solved Buser’s maximal spectral gap conjecture.
In 2023 Michael was awarded the prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prize, in recognition of his pioneering research illuminating complex mathematical concepts.
Michael has also received a European Research Council Starting Grant (2020) and London Mathematical Society Whitehead Prize (2021).
Michael acknowledges that measuring progress in pure mathematics presents unique challenges. The significance of mathematical ideas often becomes apparent only gradually over time.
However, it is source of pride that Michael can see his contributions, including solving established questions and highlighting promising new areas of study, are inspiring others to explore previously overlooked territory.
Michael also sees student mentorship as among his most rewarding professional achievements.
Looking ahead, Michael is focused on securing funding for research on convergence of unitary representations.
He is also excited to continue to attract mathematics scholars to Durham, contributing to a vision of building a thriving mathematical community.
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