Cambridge's Hannah Fry wins IMU Leelavati Prize 18 months after taking up field's first public-understanding chair

Hannah Fry, who joined Cambridge in January 2025 as the first-ever Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics, has received the IMU's Leelavati Prize at the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia. The quadrennial award recognises outstanding contributions to public awareness of mathematics. Two independent institutions have now elevated math communication to a first-class academic function within 18 months.