IMA David Youdan Medal | Previous Winners
Click on the winner's pictures to read more about their achievements
Alan Champneys
We are delighted to announce that the 2024 IMA David Youdan Medal has been awarded to Professor Alan Champneys CMath FIMA.
The IMA David Youdan Medal was established in honour of David Youdan who served with distinction as IMA Executive Director from 2002 to 2021, becoming an Honorary Fellow on the occasion of his retirement.
Professor Alan Champneys
Leadership, vision, communication, energy, and good humour are the hallmarks of Professor Champneys’ many contributions to the aims and objectives of the IMA.
He has been an editor-in-chief of the IMA Journal of Applied Mathematics since 2003. During this time, he has worked diligently to increase the prominence of the journal within the international applied mathematics community. He has led several initiatives to attract readers and contributors to the journal whilst maintaining the highest levels of quality and integrity in the peer review process and in appointments to the editorial board. He has also introduced many successful special issues to further increase the journals reach and influence. In that role he has previously been the representative for the journal on the IMA’s Journals Board of Management Committee.
At an ICMS meeting of the applied mathematics community in 2015, Professor Champneys suggested that there should be a comprehensive review of knowledge exchange in the mathematical sciences. This led to the EPSRC and Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) funding of an independent review chaired by Professor Philip Bond; the so-called Bond Review. Professor Champneys then represented the IMA on this review, at the CMS, and on a task-and-finish group for the IMA’s response to the Bond Review’s recommendations. This also involved him organising and chairing the first (and only) IMA Conference on Knowledge Exchange in 2018.
Beyond these contributions, Professor Champneys has played a prominent role in several other IMA activities. He has been the main organiser of the biennial IMA Lighthill-Thwaites Prize since its inception in 2011. As part of the team organising celebrations for the IMA’s 50th birthday, he was the instigator of, and co-author (along with 6 others under the pseudonym Sam Parc) of, the book “50 Visions of Mathematics”. He is probably best known amongst the wider IMA membership for his “Westward Ho! musings on maths and mechanics” that appear in the IMA members’ magazine, Mathematics Today; he has contributed 24 of these to date. Alan was also co-editor of a guest issue of Mathematics Today on Knowledge Exchange in Summer 2020.
Professor Champneys has also represented the IMA (and the general areas that the IMA supports) on many national committees, including V-KEMS, the Newton Gateway steering committee, and the ESGI planning committee. He is never afraid to speak up for the interests of the IMA, and applied mathematics, whenever needed.
He is a worthy recipient of the IMA David Youdan Medal for sustained outstanding contribution to the aims and objectives of the IMA.
The Awards evening will be held on Wednesday 27th November, bookings for the event are now open and close Friday 22nd November, 5pm.
Nigel Steele
We are delighted to announce that the 2022 IMA David Youdan Medal has been awarded to Professor Nigel Steele CMath Hon FIMA.
The IMA David Youdan Medal was established in honour of David Youdan who served with distinction as IMA Executive Director from 2002 to 2021, becoming an Honorary Fellow on the occasion of his retirement.
The Citation for this years award to Professor Nigel Steele follows
It is hard to imagine anyone who has contributed more to the IMA and its work than Professor Nigel Steele. Nigel was already IMA Honorary Secretary (Education) before his retirement from paid employment in 2004. Retirement gave him the opportunity to devote even more time to this voluntary role and furthering the aims of the IMA in relation to mathematics education policy and practice.
Nigel served the IMA as Honorary Secretary for Education for many years; stepping down from this role did not mean a reduction of effort on behalf of the IMA, instead he has tirelessly continued to serve the IMA and the mathematics community. He has undertaken a wide range of tasks that are essential to the smooth functioning of the mathematical sciences academic community and that have contributed, sometimes almost single-handedly, to the significant profile that the IMA now holds within the UK mathematics education-domain.
It is impossible to list Nigel’s many and varied contributions to the mathematics community in this citation, such is the extent of his commitment to making a difference, but suffice to say, amongst STEM subjects, mathematics is, in financial terms the poor relation. Consequently, the mathematics community has fewer paid advocates for the discipline: people able to attend policy-forming working groups or provide immediate responses to the questions of politicians. Nigel has filled this gap for many years. Much of his contribution to mathematics education has been behind the scenes, be it in DFE curriculum reform working groups or in advisory groups organised by the Royal Society or ACME. Despite the intangible nature of much of this work, it is undeniable that the IMA and mathematics education more widely has benefited enormously from the service that Nigel has freely given over a period of several decades.
The award of the IMA David Youdan Medal is a fitting acknowledgement of the selfless service and considerable achievements of someone who has sought throughout his working lifetime and way beyond that, not to enhance his personal reputation but to improve mathematics education for the sake of learners and society.
This list is updated every two years following the new award announcement.