Martin
Anthony

I am a mathematician at LSE. My work has combined research, education, and service.

Research Teaching and education Publications Contact

ResearchI work on mathematical questions connected with learning, classification, computation, and discrete mathematics.

EducationI have taught mathematics at LSE across many levels, written textbooks, and led programme development.

ServiceI have held leadership and governance roles at LSE, including Head of Department of Mathematics, Vice-Chair of the Academic Board, and Director of the Data Science Institute.

Martin Anthony speaking at the LSE Data Science Institute

Professor of Mathematics

London School of Economics and Political Science

About

I joined LSE in 1990 and am a Professor in the Department of Mathematics. My work has ranged across research, education, management, and governance.

I am originally from Paisley, in the west of Scotland, and studied mathematics at the University of Glasgow before coming to London.

LSE has been a wonderful place to spend a career. I arrived intending, like most new academics, to do some research, teach some courses, and see what happened. More than three decades later, I am still here. (It has been a great place to be.)

  • PositionProfessor of Mathematics, LSE
  • DepartmentDepartment of Mathematics
  • PhDUniversity of London, 1991
  • MAHigher and Professional Education, Institute of Education, 2002
  • BScMathematics, University of Glasgow, 1988

Research

Mathematics of learning and classification

My research is in mathematics, with a particular interest in learning, classification, computation, and discrete mathematical methods. Much of it uses probabilistic and combinatorial techniques.

One recurring theme has been to extend and generalise probabilistic models of machine learning, especially in relation to learning from examples and the analysis of classification methods. Another has been the theory of Boolean functions, including threshold and related functions, and their connections with learning.

More recent projects concern mathematical questions arising from text analysis and machine learning, with some geometrical considerations. The topics have changed over time, but the approach has remained mathematical: to identify a precise model, formulate the right question, and prove something useful about it.

Teaching and education

Teaching, writing, and programme development

I became an academic because I love teaching, and it has been central to my career. I have taught many mathematics courses at LSE, from first-year mathematics for economists through to advanced courses in algebra and discrete mathematics.

I have also written mathematics textbooks, including books aimed at students of economics and finance. I have led programme development and contributed to transnational education, through decades of work with the University of London International Programmes and a role in establishing a new institution in Kazakhstan.

Service

Leadership and governance

I have held leadership, management, and governance roles at LSE. These include serving as Head of Department of Mathematics, Vice-Chair of the Academic Board, Academic Governor and member of Council, and Director of the Data Science Institute.

I have also been a member of committees and working groups too exciting and numerous to mention, and perhaps even to remember. I regard it as vital that universities should be led by academics, and that academic staff should take a serious part in their governance. I am deeply committed to academic freedom, and a founding member of the LSE Academic Freedom Network.

Selected publications

Selected books and papers

Full publication list →

Contact

Department of Mathematics
London School of Economics and Political Science
Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom