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Hardy Lectureship

The LMS Hardy Lectureship is named after G.H. Hardy, former President of the Society and De Morgan Medallist. Originally awarded to a distinguished overseas mathematician in odd-numbered years.

The LMS Hardy Lecturer visits the UK for a period of about two weeks, and gives the Hardy Lecture at a Society meeting, normally held in London in July. The LMS Hardy Lecturer also gives at least six other lectures, on different topics, at other venues in the UK; the schedule is decided by the LMS Society, Lectures and Meetings Committee in consultation with the LMS Hardy Lecturer, and is designed to allow as many UK mathematicians as possible to benefit from the LMS Hardy Lecturer's presence in the UK.

Hardy Lectureship Tour 2027: Call for Nominations now open- deadline 31 January 2026.

Celebrating 60 Years of the Hardy Lectureship

The London Mathematical Society invites nominations for the 2027 Hardy Lecture Tour, marking the 60th anniversary of this prestigious lectureship.

About the Lectureship

The Hardy Lecturer will visit the UK for 2–3 weeks, delivering:

  • The Hardy Lecture at a Society meeting in London (late June/early July)
  • At least six additional lectures at institutions across the UK

The tour is designed to benefit the UK mathematical community. The schedule is arranged by the LMS SLAM Committee in consultation with the Lecturer.

Eligibility & Criteria

Nominees must not have been normally resident in the UK for at least five years at the time of the award.

Criteria for nominations include:

  1. The Nominee is not normally resident in the United Kingdom
  2. The Nominee has not previously been awarded the Lectureship
  3. The Lectureship is not restricted to mathematicians working in any specific area of mathematics.

Selection is based on:

  • Outstanding mathematical achievements and service
  • Lecturing excellence and breadth of interest
  • Potential impact on UK mathematics
  • Opportunity to host a rarely visiting international scholar

he Society, Lectures and Meetings Committee will also consider:

  • the achievements of the Nominee, including work in, influence on, and general service to mathematics; lecturing gifts; and breadth of mathematical interests;
  • the overall benefit the UK mathematical community might derive from the visit;
  • the possibility of bringing to the UK a mathematician who might otherwise visit rarely or never.

The Lectureship is open to all areas of mathematics, and the LMS encourages nominations from diverse backgrounds.

Support Provided

The LMS will fund:

  • Travel and accommodation (up to £4,500)
  • Caring costs (up to £2,500)
  • Contribution to host department for a celebratory dinner

Host departments are expected to contribute to accommodation, provide office space, and offer academic support.

How to Nominate:

Nominations should include:

  • A cover letter
  • A short CV of the nominee

The Society encourages nominations of mathematicians from diverse backgrounds.

Nominations must be submitted by the Head of Department to:
📧 lmsmeetings@lms.ac.uk 🗓️ Deadline: 31 January 2026

Nominations must have the support of the host department(s).

 

Hardy Lectureship Guidelines

Hardy Lectureship Tour 2025:

The LMS Hardy Lecturer 2025 was Professor Emily Riehl (Johns Hopkins University).

The dates for the 2025 Lectureship were as follows: 

Fri 20 June  16:00

Aberdeen - Fraser Noble Buiding, University of Aberdeen

'Elements of ∞-Category Theory'
Mon 23 June  16:00

Manchester - Alan Turing Building, University of Manchester

'Contractibility as uniqueness'
Tue 24 June 16:00

Glasgow - Maths and Statistics Building, University of Glasgow

'From the 1-categorical Yoneda lemma to the ∞-categorical Yoneda lemma'
Wed 25 June  18:00

Edinburgh - Bayes Centre, University of Edinburgh

'Queer in math and queering math'
Fri 27 June  10:15

Cardiff - School of Mathematics, Cardiff University

'Homotopy types as homotopy types'
Mon 30 June  16:00

Cambridge - The Chapel at Churchill College

'Path induction and the indiscernibility of identicals'
Wed 2 July  11:00

Birmingham - University House, University of Birmingham

'Prospects for formalizing the theory of weak infinite-dimensional categories'
Fri 4 July  15:30

London - De Morgan House (Hardy Lecture)

'Could we teach ∞-category theory to undergraduates or to a computer?'
Mon 7 July 16:00

Bristol - Fry Building, University of Bristol

'A conversation on professional norms in mathematics'

 

Previous Hardy Lecture Tours

Travel/Caring Grants to attend the Hardy Lectures.

Travel/Caring grants of up to £50 to support attending the Hardy Lectures, which are at universities on the Hardy Lecture Tour, were available to mathematicians who are based at neighbouring universities to those universities and would require financial support.

For future Hardy Lecture Tours, if you require support, please complete the application form as soon as you can and at least 3 working days before the Hardy Lecture you wish to attend.  Please note that there are limited funds available and so grants may be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. 

If you have any queries, please email lmsmeetings@lms.ac.uk

For general enquiries about the Hardy Lectures, please contact lmsmeetings@lms.ac.uk