Laureation Address: Professor Geoffrey Grimmett FRS
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science
Laureation by Regius Professor Kenneth Falconer CBE, School of Mathematics & Statistics
Wednesday 1 July 2026 – morning ceremony
Vice-Chancellor, it is my privilege to present, for the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Professor Geoffrey Grimmett.
The mathematical theory of probability goes back many centuries with its roots in analysing gambling games. Nowadays, probability is an indispensable tool for describing and understanding a wide range of phenomena across science and the humanities.
Geoffrey is a world leader in mathematical probability, specialising in settings where a large number of small-scale random occurrences can result in dramatic large-scale changes. Such phase transitions, as they are known, occur in many situations, for example, a slight increase in the transmission rate of a disease may lead to an epidemic, or a small change in temperature can result in a sudden change in the magnetic properties of a metal. One key problem is: given
a porous rock structure, what is the chance that oil or gas can permeate through the rock? Such questions, where there is an underlying random process, are extremely challenging to formulate mathematically, and Geoffrey is distinguished for developing the rigorous theory of such phenomena.
Geoffrey has written numerous research papers along with three seminal research books on random structures, and his two co-authored textbooks on probability are widely used in this and many other universities. He has also written popular articles analysing deceptively simple problems, including the ‘lost boarding pass problem’ and a question about a coin-tossing game that went viral on Twitter.
After periods in Oxford and Bristol, Geoffrey was appointed Professor of Mathematical Statistics at the University of Cambridge in 1992, and in 2002 became Head of the world-renowned Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics. This was a time of change for Cambridge mathematics. Geoffrey oversaw the move of the department to the Centre for
Mathematical Sciences, located in extensive new buildings on the edge of the city. Under his leadership, the Department became a much more international and inclusive community.
After a period as Master of Downing College, Cambridge, Geoffrey became Chair of the Heilbronn Institute, one of the three major mathematics research institutes in the United Kingdom. The Institute is funded jointly by Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the research councils, and many of our graduates have gone on to undertake PhDs or Postdoctoral Fellowships there.
Geoffrey’s activities extend far beyond academic research. In 2019 he advised the European Parliament on how to allocate seats between European states in a way that was fair but did not unduly disadvantage smaller states. He was a member of the Great Britain fencing team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, he plays the harpsichord, and enjoys travelling to quiet places of extraordinary beauty, especially mountains and canyons.
Vice-Chancellor, in recognition of his outstanding mathematical research and his service to mathematics and beyond, I invite you to confer the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, on Professor Geoffrey Grimmett.