Professor Robert MacKay from the Mathematics Institute has been awarded a grant of $561,672 from The Alfred P Sloan Foundation. The project will look at the 'Management of complex systems' for a two year period beginning 1 January 2012.

The project will develop mathematical foundations and applications for the control theory of probability distributions for complex systems. The grant forms part of the 'Economic institutions, behavior and performance' subarea of the Economic Performance and Quality of Life programme.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic, not-for-profit grantmaking institution based in New York City. Established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., then-President and Chief Executive Officer of the General Motors Corporation, the Foundation makes grants in support of original research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economic performance.

Professor MacKay was interviewed for the February 2012 issue of Mathematics Today, the membership magazine of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA). He took over as President of the IMA in January 2012. You can download the interview as a PDF from the IMA website.