Marcus du Sautoy OBE

Marcus du Sautoy is the Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford
University. A natural communicator, he is especially passionate when it comes to popularising maths -
showing how it affects every aspect of our lives from simple counting to any form of trade and even
the homes in which we live.
In one presentation he explains how mathematicians supplied the codes on which the world now relies
for internet transactions or sending confidential data. How secure are these codes? Can we make them
uncrackable? With film clips and animation, Marcus offers a compelling insight into the science of
cryptography.
In another he shows that maths is in effect the science of pattern searching, and a powerful tool to help
predict what’s likely to happen in the future. It provides the language and the models to enable
companies to analyse ever larger amounts of data, to pick out trends or detect fraudulent activity; but
Marcus also demonstrates how these patterns can remain hidden until you look at things in a new way
- and why lateral thinking is so important.
Marcus is the author of The Music of the Primes – a genuinely bestselling maths book. He also writes
for The Guardian and Telegraph, presents films for BBC’s Horizon and regularly pops up as a guest on
Radio 4’s In Our Time. Away from maths, he is a fanatical trumpet and football player - with a
fascinating theory about why Beckham always chose the ‘23’ shirt.