John Toland (mathematician)

Toland was educated at St Columb's College in Derry and Queen's University Belfast, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in 1970. He completed postgraduate study at the University of Sussex, where he was awarded a PhD in 1973{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|publisher=University of Sussex|title=Topological Methods for Nonlinear Eigenvalue Problems|first= John Francis|last=Toland|year=1973|url=http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.475332|oclc=500579955}} for research on topological methods for nonlinear eigenvalue problems supervised by Charles A. Stuart.{{MathGenealogy|id=58235}}

From 1982 to 2011 he was professor of mathematics at the University of Bath, where he held an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Senior Fellowship 1997–2002. In addition from 2002 to 2010 he was scientific director of the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS) in Edinburgh.{{cite web

|title=Management Structure

|publisher=ICMS

|url=http://www.icms.org.uk/managementStructure.php

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103011754/http://icms.org.uk/managementStructure.php

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=2007-01-03

|accessdate=19 September 2007

}}{{cite web

| title = Officers and Council

| publisher = LMS

| url = http://www.lms.ac.uk/contact/index.html

| accessdate = 19 September 2007}}

In 2011 he succeeded Sir David Wallace as director of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences and N M Rothschild & Sons Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge.{{cite web|url=http://www.newton.ac.uk/history/toland.html|title=Professor John Toland FRS FRSE|work=Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences|publisher=Isaac Newton Institute|accessdate=22 August 2011|archive-date=2 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702213645/http://www.newton.ac.uk/history/toland.html|url-status=dead}} In 2016 he was succeeded as director by Professor David Abrahams.{{cite web| url = http://www.newton.ac.uk/about/history/abrahams|title=Professor David Abrahams|website=newton.ac.uk|date=25 March 2021 }} His research interests include mathematical analysis and nonlinear partial differential equations with particular interest in the rigorous theory of steady water waves. In 1978, he proved George Gabriel Stokes' conjecture on the existence of gravity waves of maximum height on deep water, a previously open problem in mathematical hydrodynamics which dated back to the 19th century.{{cite journal

| last = Toland

| first = J. F.

| title = On the Existence of a Wave of Greatest Height and Stokes's Conjecture

| journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences

| volume = 363

| issue = 1715

| pages = 469–485

| year = 1978

| bibcode = 1978RSPSA.363..469T

| doi = 10.1098/rspa.1978.0178

| s2cid = 120444295

}}{{cite web

| last = Petrunic

| first = Josipa

| title = George Gabriel Stokes

| work = Gifford Lecture Series

| publisher = Templeton Foundation Press

| url = http://www.giffordlectures.org/Author.asp?AuthorID=160

| accessdate = 24 September 2007

| archive-date = 18 October 2005

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051018093715/http://www.giffordlectures.org/Author.asp?AuthorID=160

| url-status = dead

}}

He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1999,{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117001502/https://royalsociety.org/people/john-toland-12423/ |archivedate=17 November 2015 |url=https://royalsociety.org/people/john-toland-12423/ |publisher=royalsociety.org |location=London |author=Anon |year=1999 |title=Professor John Toland FRS }} One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: {{quote|"All text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License." --{{cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/about-us/terms-conditions-policies/ |title=Royal Society Terms, conditions and policies |accessdate=9 March 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925220834/https://royalsociety.org/about-us/terms-conditions-policies/ |archivedate=25 September 2015 }}}} and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) in 2003.{{Citation needed|date=December 2016}} He was awarded the London Mathematical Society's Senior Berwick Prize in 2000;

{{cite web

| title = Citation for John Francis Toland

| publisher = LMS

| year = 2000

| url = http://www.lms.ac.uk/activities/prizes_com/citations00/toland.html

| accessdate = 19 September 2007

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051026060128/http://www.lms.ac.uk/activities/prizes_com/citations00/toland.html

| archive-date = 26 October 2005

| url-status = dead

| df = dmy-all

}}

and the Royal Society's Sylvester Medal in 2012.{{cite web|url = https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/sylvester-medal/|title=Sylvester Medal|publisher=Royal Society}}

He is an Honorary Fellow of University College London{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/srs/governance-and-committees/committees/hdfc/honorary-fellows|title=Honorary Fellows of UCL|last=Tel: +4420 7679 2000|first=University College London-Gower Street- London- WC1E 6BT|website=www.ucl.ac.uk|language=en|access-date=2019-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120215645/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/srs/governance-and-committees/committees/hdfc/honorary-fellows|archive-date=20 November 2016|url-status=dead}} and was a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge October 2011 – September 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.maths.bath.ac.uk/~masjft/ |title=J F Toland's home page|website=bath.ac.uk|publisher=University of Bath|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307011732/http://www.maths.bath.ac.uk/~masjft/|archivedate=7 March 2014|location=Bath}}

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Category:1949 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century mathematicians from Northern Ireland

Category:21st-century mathematicians from Northern Ireland

Category:Academics of the University of Bath

Category:Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge

Category:Fellows of the Royal Society

Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Category:Mathematical analysts

Category:Scientists from Derry (city)

Category:People educated at St Columb's College

Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast

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