Home Page of Robert Wilson

Professor Robert A Wilson
Address :	School of Mathematical Sciences Queen Mary, University of London Mile End Road London E1 4NS
Office :	Maths G51
Office hours:	Week 1: Tuesday and Wednesday, 11:15-12:15 Week 2: Tuesday and Friday, 11:15-12:15 Week 3: Monday 2:30-3:30, Tuesday 11:15-12:15 Thereafter: normally Tuesday and Friday, 11:15-12:15
Telephone :	+44 (0)20 7882 5496
School Fax :	+44 (0)20 8981 9587
Email Address :	R.A.Wilson [add AT qmul DOT ac DOT uk]

I have been a professor of pure mathematics in the School of Mathematical Sciences at Queen Mary, University of London, since September 2004.

My inaugural lecture took place on 2/4/8 (aka Wednesday 2nd April 2008), at 5.30 pm in the Mathematics Lecture Theatre. You can view the invitation, the slides and the prepared text of the talk (not quite the same as what I actually said), and listen to the musical interlude (aka the first movement of the Moonshine Sonata by Beethoven).

LMS Council Nomination

Many thanks to all those who voted for me in the election for the LMS Council at the AGM on 20th November. Your votes were successful, and I will endeavour to be worthy of your faith in me. My election statement is archived here.

Research

My research is mainly in finite group theory, and related areas such as representation theory, some aspects of combinatorics, and computational techniques and algorithms applicable to finite groups. A specialism is the sporadic simple groups, especially the MONSTER, a group with
808017424794512875886459904961710757005754368000000000
elements.
You can find the web-based Atlas of Group Representations at brauer.maths.qmul.ac.uk/Atlas/, or if that does not work, try the old version in Birmingham. There is also an experimental Version 3 which you may find easier to use: feedback appreciated! (Development, enhancement and maintenance by Simon Nickerson, John Bray, Richard Barraclough and myself.)
A list of possible research problems.
A link to the Representation theory across the Channel website.

Research seminars and colloquia

I am supposed to be running the Monday Pure Mathematics Colloquium during 2009-10. This normally takes place on Monday in Room 103, School of Mathematical Sciences, QMUL, at 4.30pm, preceded by tea in the Common Room.

The following notes and/or slides are from a few of my talks given in a variety of places during recent years.

Five lectures on exceptional structures and simple groups
- E₈ (QMUL, 17/11/08)
  pdf.
- Octonions (QMUL, 24/11/08)
  pdf.
- The Golay code (QMUL, 01/12/08)
  pdf.
- The Leech lattice (QMUL, 08/12/08)
  pdf.
- An octonionic Leech lattice (QMUL, 15/12/08)
  pdf.
248 and all that (Birmingham, 60th birthday conference for Professor Robert Curtis, 21/09/07; updated: QMUL, 15/10/07; ICMS, Edinburgh, 20/11/07)
pdf.
Involution centralizers in matrix group algorithms (QMUL, 14/11/05; Warwick 17/2/06)
Text: dvi, ps or pdf.
Finite groups with small automorphism groups (QMUL, 7/10/04; Manchester, 30/11/04; Cambridge, 9/2/05; City, 23/1/06)
Text: dvi, ps or pdf.
The weird and wonderful world of octonions (QMUL, 13/12/04; Birmingham, 15/2/06)
The text of the talk, plus a bit more, is available in dvi format or in ps format or in pdf format.
Taming the Monster (Plenary talk at New Zealand Mathematics Colloquium, Auckland, 4/12/02)
Slides: dvi, ps or pdf.

Recent Publications and Preprints

My publication list according to MathSciNet.

For preprints and other information see separate publications page in preparation.

Recent grant reports

Grant reports. New report added 26/7/07.

Short stories and poems for mathematicians

Warning: do not read these if you are offended by strong (mathematical) language or explicit (mathematical) scenes.

Books

The finite simple groups. Springer, 2009. Addenda and corrigenda. The various old versions are no longer available.
Atlas of Finite Groups by JHConway, RTCurtis, SPNorton, RAParker and RAWilson (1985). Reprint with corrections (2004) published by Oxford University Press. Details can be found on the OUP website here. Price £79.00.
Graphs, colourings and the four-colour theorem published by Oxford University Press 2002. Details can be found on the OUP website here . Price £27.00 paperback and £47.00 hardback.
Linear algebra by RWKaye and RAWilson, published by Oxford University Press 1998. Details can be found on the OUP website here. Price £23.00 paperback and £52.00 hardback.
The Atlas of Finite Groups: Ten Years On edited by RTCurtis and RAWilson, published by Cambridge University Press 1998. Details can be found on the CUP website Price £40.00.
An Atlas of Brauer Characters by CJansen, KLux, RParker and RWilson (1995). published by Oxford University Press. Out of print.

Teaching 2009-10

Finite simple groups (LTCC course: October 5/12/19/26 + November 2, all at 13:00, DMH).
Some course materials are now available here. The course will be based on some small part of my book The finite simple groups (in press).
MTH714U Group theory, a.k.a. MTHM024 Group theory (first semester).
Direct link to the course web pages
Algebraic structures I (second semester).
Direct link to the course web pages
Possible MSci or MSc projects.

Lecture notes

Finite simple groups . Expanded notes of an MSci course given in Birmingham in 2003-4 by Chris Parker and myself.
On the O'Nan--Scott Theorem (QMUL, November 2005)
Some notes on the proof of this theorem are available in dvi format or in ps format or in pdf format.
Introductory mathematics for civil engineers. A course I taught in Birmingham in 2001.
Introductory mathematics for computer scientists. A course I taught in Birmingham in 1997.

Postgraduate Students

Current and recently graduated students:

Richard Barraclough (Birmingham, 2001 - 2005). PhD thesis: Some calculations related to the Monster group
Simon Nickerson (Birmingham, 2002 - 2005). PhD thesis: An Atlas of Characteristic Zero Representations
Jonathan Ward (QMUL, 2004 - 2009)
Adeel Farooq (QMUL, 2005 - )
Johanna Rämö (QMUL, 2006 - )
Colin Reid (QMUL, 2006 - 2009)
Nicholas Krempel (QMUL, 2007 - )

Other Activities

From September 2007 I shall be dealing with Postgraduate Admissions (MPhil and PhD, but not MSc, which is dealt with by Professor Soicher) in Pure Mathematics for the MRC at QMUL. Some suitable links will appear here in due course.
- The postgraduate pages of the School of Mathematical Sciences at Queen Mary. Look here first if you are thinking of doing a postgraduate degree in the School.
I was an Editorial Adviser for the Bulletin/Journal/Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society from 2005--2008, covering the area of Finite Groups, but am no longer. If you wish to submit a paper, please follow the instructions on the LMS website.
I was Departmental Erasmus/Socrates Coordinator from September 2004 to August 2007. This job is no longer my responsibility, but I will leave the following links for the time being.
- The International Office at QMUL has lots of useful information.
- Incoming Erasmus/exchange students will find a wealth of useful information here .
- American and Australian exchange scheme . If you want to spend part or all of your second year at one of a few selected US and Australian universities, read this page now, as the closing date for applications is in November.
- Policy for assessment of autumn semester study abroad students .

Personal

I have been principal viola in the Sinfonia of Birmingham for some years. Here is a poster advertising our last concert.
Me relaxing at home.

This page is maintained by Robert Wilson. The views and opinions expressed in these pages are mine. The contents of these pages have not been reviewed or approved by Queen Mary, University of London.

Professor Robert A Wilson