London Institute for Mathematical Sciences

London Institute for Mathematical Sciences
MottoTruth, Beauty
TypeIndependent research institute
Established2011
DirectorThomas Fink
Location
The Royal Institution, London, UK
Websitelims.ac.uk

The London Institute for Mathematical Sciences (LIMS, also known as the London Institute) is Britain's only independent research centre in theoretical physics and mathematics.[1] Modelled on the Institute for Advanced Study in the US,[2] it was founded to be an alternative to universities, where scientists have to spend time on teaching and administrative duties.[3] Instead, the institute gives its researchers the freedom and support to devote themselves to research full-time.[2]

In 2026, Times Higher Education reported that the entrepreneur and philanthropist Ben Delo had pledged £20 million to LIMS as part of a campaign to build a £60 million endowment.[4][5]

History

The London Institute was founded in 2011 by the American physicist Thomas Fink with the encouragement of Caltech's Head of Physics, Tom Tombrello. It received early grants from DARPA and the EU’s research framework programme.[6]

In 2019, it was awarded Independent Research Organisation status by UK Research and Innovation, becoming the first independent research centre in the physical sciences to be allowed to compete with universities for funding from the seven research councils.[7][8]

In 2021, its researchers moved into the Royal Institution at 21 Albemarle St in Mayfair. They now occupy rooms that were once the private living quarters of Sir Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday and Sir William Bragg, among others.[9]

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the LIMS created the Arnold and Landau Fellowships, named after the Ukrainian mathematician Vladimir Arnold and the Russian physicist Lev Landau, consisting of ten three-year full-time positions.[2].

In 2022, the institution's website was nominated for Best Science Website at the Webby Awards.[10]

Research

The London Institute conducts theoretical research in mathematics, physics and related mathematical sciences. Its research pages group the institute's work into broad themes including "Mathematics that unifies", "The elegant universe", "Life, learning and emergence" and "AI-assisted discovery".[11]

Its researchers have published papers on statistical physics in Nature Reviews Physics; algebraic geometry in the Journal of High Energy Physics; graph theory in the European Journal of Combinatorics; and network theory in Physical Review Letters.[12] In 2024, researcher Oleksandr Gamayun’s paper on topological solitons became LIMS's first to be published in Nature.[13]

In 2021, the UK government announced the launch of Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), a new science agency designed to support projects that may create "a paradigm shift in science". Following the agency's creation, LIMS compiled a list of the 23 Mathematical Challenges of our time,[14][15] inspired by David Hilbert's list of 23 challenges published in 1900, 17 of which have been solved or partially resolved; the LIMS list was published in full in The Times.[14]

Leadership and governance

The director of LIMS is the physicist Thomas Fink. Its trustees include Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute; the author and entrepreneur Talulah Riley; the investor Florian Schuster; and the entrepreneur and philanthropist Ben Delo. In addition to its trustees, it has a forum of governors, who include Amit Jain and Pinar Emirdağ.

Funding

LIMS has funded its physics research almost entirely though private investors and EU and US grants, rather than through access to a dedicated stream of domestic core public funding.[1]

As a non-university institute, the LIMS does not receive student fees or the annual core funding the British government gives to universities. Instead it has been funded by research grants from the EU's Horizon 2020, the European Innovation Council, DARPA, the US Department of Defense, the Ministry of Defence, the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK. Industry collaborations include investments from firms in strategy, biotech and AI.[16]

In 2025, Delo funded the Ben Delo Fellowship at the London Institute, whose first incumbent is the physicist Juven Wang.[17] In 2026, Delo pledged an additional £20 million to LIMS.[18][19][20]

References

  1. 1 2 Ryan, Laura; Djajadikerta, Alvin; James, Phillips; Benedict, Macon-Cooney; Mökander, Jakob (20 November 2025). "A New National Purpose: Reimagining UK Science and Technology Through Lovelace Disruptive Invention Laboratories". Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Whipple, Tom (22 May 2023). "Russian and Ukrainian mathematicians find their common denominator". The Times. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  3. ↑ "How British science can flourish". The Spectator. Mar 2020.
  4. ↑ Grove, Jack (3 March 2026). "Bitcoin billionaire targets Nobel Prizes with £20 million gift". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Hayes, George (4 March 2026). "Crypto tycoon commits £20m to another charity after recent large donation". Civil Society. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "Our story". LIMS. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Independent Research Organisations". UK Research and Innovation.
  8. ↑ "'We need to challenge the university monopoly on research'". Times Higher Education. Apr 2019.
  9. ↑ "Building". London Institute for Mathematical Sciences. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "London Institute for Mathematical Sciences". Webby Awards.
  11. ↑ "Themes". London Institute for Mathematical Sciences. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Papers". London Institute for Mathematical Sciences.
  13. ↑ "Non-reciprocal topological solitons in active metamaterials". Nature. 627: 528–533. 20 Mar 2024. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07097-6. hdl:11245.1/14c731f3-446a-44f2-af2b-6cb5b93427bd.
  14. 1 2 Whipple, Tom, Science. "Mathematicians sum up the 23 big problems of our time". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-03-14.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ "23 Mathematical challenges". LIMS - London Institute for Mathematical Sciences. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  16. ↑ "Funding". London Institute for Mathematical Sciences. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  17. ↑ "Why I'm giving my money to maths". The Spectator. Apr 2025.
  18. ↑ West, Sarah (3 March 2026). "Bitcoin Billionaire Ben Delo's £20m Gift to LIMS Targets Nobel Prizes in UK Research". AcademicJobs. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  19. ↑ Woolcock, Nicola (3 March 2026). "Crypto billionaire pardoned by Trump gives £20m to science". The Times. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  20. ↑ Peel, Michael (2 March 2026). "Pardoned crypto tycoon pledges £20mn to UK maths and physics institute". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 May 2026.

51°30′35″N 0°08′33″W / 51.5098°N 0.1425°W / 51.5098; -0.1425

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