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Early Career Mathematicians
The IMA's Early Career Mathematicians (ECMs) community is for students and early career professionals in the mathematical sciences. It provides opportunities to connect with peers, develop professionally, build networks and become more involved in the mathematics community.
Activities and events for ECMs are organised by the Early Career Mathematicians Committee, which works to represent the interests of early career members and create opportunities for engagement across the profession.
While many activities are aimed at students and early career mathematicians, everyone is welcome to attend ECM events.
An Early Career Mathematician is someone who is either:
- Studying towards a degree or qualification in the mathematical sciences; or
- Within 10 years of starting their first mathematics-related role, excluding career breaks.
Opportunities for ECMs
As an Early Career Mathematician, you can:
- Contribute articles, ideas and content for Mathematics Today, other IMA publications and the IMA website.
- Seek advice and share experiences relating to career development, including upgrading your IMA membership and working towards Chartered status.
- Help promote mathematics and the work of the IMA to students, graduates, schools, universities, businesses and charities.
- Attend social, networking and professional development events organised by the ECM Committee.
- Build connections with other mathematicians at a similar stage in their careers.
Get Involved
The Early Career Mathematicians Committee is always keen to hear from ECMs about the activities, events and support they would like to see.
If you would like to find out more, share your ideas or get involved with the Committee's work, please contact any member of the Committee directly or email [email protected].
Your suggestions and feedback are always welcome.
Meet the ECM Committee
Simon Johnson
The Chair provides leadership and a focus for the group, acts as direct liaison with the IMA Council and Secretariat, and is also responsible for coordinating responses to emails sent to the IMA ECM email mailbox.
I have been working in industry with Northwest-based software companies for the better part of 20 years. First as a software developer, then as an architect and ultimately becoming a Director of Engineering.
I entered the industry as a self-taught programmer, so in 2023 I decided to head back to the classroom. I am currently studying part time for a BSc in Mathematics at The Open University.
I put myself forward to join the ECM committee because I felt the group would benefit from my experience in industry. Skills learned in mathematics, such as properly defining the problem, clarity of communication and the ability to analyse things rigorously are all skills directly transferable to software engineering and other careers.
In my downtime, I am an avid glider pilot as well as enjoying time spent with my wife and two children.
Sophie Hawkes
The Vice Chair supports the Chair, arranges committee meetings, and records and circulates committee discussions and actions. The Vice Chair is also the Chair Designate and is expected to take over as the new Chair the following year.
Sophie (she/her) is a PhD researcher at Royal Holloway, University of London, within the CDT in Cyber Security for the Everyday. She earned a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Warwick, including an Erasmus year at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. Her research focuses on real-world applications of cryptography and privacy-preserving technologies, particularly outsourced private set intersection and the security and privacy of perceptual hashing in tools for reporting image-based abuse. She is passionate that maths can be for everyone, and is active in maths outreach and EDI initiatives at the university.
Katherine Hamilton
The Event Leader leads on developing new and existing events for the ECM community, and liaises with the IMA Conference Department to set up these events during their year of office. Events range from in-person or virtual conferences, to virtual Maths Teas, to icebreaker-type events to aid with networking. All ECM committee members contribute to running the events.
Katherine graduated from the University of Nottingham with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, having spent a year in industry working as a mathematician for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Mathematics and the Foundations of Computer Science at the University of Oxford, with her primary interests being in network analysis and social choice theory.
Outside of her studies, Katherine is involved in mathematics outreach and is interested in finding creative ways to introduce students to mathematical topics. She currently works on Balliol College, Oxford’s access programmes for students in secondary school and sixth form, teaching group theory, graph theory and cryptography.
Michaelle Ann Abhijit
The Event Leader Designate shadows and assists the Event Leader in the development of new and existing events for the ECM community.The Event Leader Designate is expected to take over as the new Event Leader the following year.
Michelle Ann Abhijit is a PhD student in Mathematics and AI in Healthcare at Aston University, Birmingham. Her research combines mathematical modelling and machine learning to develop a digital twin for the prediction and management of diabetes. She holds a triple-major undergraduate degree in Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, and an MSc in Mathematical Sciences with a specialisation in Mathematical Biology from the University of York. Her research experience spans soft sets and fuzzy logic, stochastic modelling of nanoparticle self-assembly, and mathematical virology. Michelle is actively involved in academic and outreach activities, including organising postgraduate conferences, seminars, and inter-collegiate mathematics events. She is passionate about creating inclusive, interdisciplinary spaces for early career mathematicians and broadening ECM activities to support networking and wellbeing.
Kat Phillips
The Engagement Leader’s role is to encourage ECM members to participate more actively with the IMA, for example through upgrading their membership, through gaining the Chartered Mathematician designation, and through engaging with their local IMA branch (where one exists). In addition, the Engagement Leader is involved in the Committee’s communications, such as updates in Mathematics Today.
Kat is in the final year of her PhD at the University of Bath as part of the Statistical Applied Mathematics Centre for Doctoral Training (SAMBa), which she joined in 2019. After completing a training year consisting of an MRes in Statistical Applied Mathematics she has focused on classical fluid dynamics, using numerical and analytical techniques to understand the role that air layers play in impacting droplets.
Outside of her research she dedicates a lot of time towards maths communication. Alongside giving public talks, she streams her PhD experience and teaches maths on Twitch, a live-streaming platform, under the name ‘KatDoesMaths’. She is passionate about ensuring that the PhD application process is as transparent as possible and since 2022 has built ‘PhD Your Way’ – a virtual open day that brings Maths PhD application information from universities across the UK to one easy-to-access place.
Charles Okon
The Event Leader Designate shadows and assists the Event Leader in the development of new and existing events for the ECM community.The Event Leader Designate is expected to take over as the new Event Leader the following year.
I am a mathematician, educator, and academic leader with over 13 years of experience across secondary, further, and higher education in the UK and internationally. I hold advanced degrees in mathematical and physical sciences, am both QTS- and QTLS‑qualified, and am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and the Society for Education and Training (FSET). I have taught GCSE and A‑Level Mathematics, served as a University Lecturer in Physics, and held leadership roles in quality assurance and STEM curriculum development. My work is driven by a commitment to widening participation, strengthening mathematical confidence, and supporting early‑career mathematicians through inclusive practice, mentorship, and community engagement.
Kayode Oshinubi
The Immediate Past Chair’s role is to support and advise the new chair and committee, and to provide continuity in the running of the committee and the group as a whole.
Kayode obtained his PhD at Université Grenoble Alpes, France. It specialised in infectious disease modelling using a statistical and mathematical approach. He is a postdoctoral researcher at Northern Arizona University, where he supports efforts to build a cyber-infrastructure for public health using spatial modelling. Kayode’s research interests are in biostatistics, machine learning, data analysis, statistical analysis, infectious disease modelling, mathematical modelling and computational epidemiology.
Suzie Norton
The role of the diversity and inclusion leader of the IMA Early Career Mathematicians committee is to ensure that the actions of the ECM committee are inline with the wider IMA diversity and inclusion activities. They are to suggest and promote events which will showcase more diversity within the ECM community. They are to suggest ways the ECM committee can better engage with, and encourage, ECMs from more diverse backgrounds to follow mathematics as a career, become involved with the IMA, and become involved with the ECM committee.
The diversity and inclusion leader liaises with the IMA’s diversity champion, ECM events leader, and ECM engagement leader to achieve these aims. They will also feedback directly to the IMA diversity champion thoughts that the ECM committee has to improve diversity and inclusion in the ECM population, and the IMA as a whole.
I graduated from Queen Mary University of London with a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and am currently pursuing a Master’s in Philosophy of Mathematics at the University of Bristol. My academic interests lie in the foundations and meaning of mathematics, logic, and the philosophy of physics, particularly how we come to know mathematical entities and structures.
Alongside my studies, I am keenly interested in the intersection of mathematics, technology, and security. Looking ahead, I plan to transition into cybersecurity, applying my analytical and problem-solving skills to areas such as risk management, threat analysis, and particularly security ethics. I am especially looking forward to exploring how logical reasoning and mathematical principles can contribute to securing digital systems in an increasingly complex technological landscape.
Thomas Hobson
As and when required, the ECM Committee may co-opt non-elected members of the ECM group to get involved and help support the development of the group.
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