Arran Fernandez

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Arran Fernandez
BornJune 1995 (age 28)
United Kingdom
EducationHome-educated
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
Scientific career
InstitutionsEastern Mediterranean University
Thesis Analysis in Fractional Calculus and Asymptotics Related to Zeta Functions  (2018)
Doctoral advisorAthanassios S. Fokas

Arran Fernandez (born June 1995) is a British mathematician who, in June 2013, became Senior Wrangler at Cambridge University, aged 18 years and 0 months. He is thought to be the youngest Senior Wrangler ever.[1][4]

Biography[edit]

Prior to university, Fernandez was educated at home, predominantly by his father, Neil Fernandez.[5][6] In 2001 he broke the age record for gaining a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), the English academic qualification usually taken at age 16, for which he sat the examinations aged five.[7] In 2003 he became the youngest person ever to gain an A* grade at GCSE, also for Mathematics.[8][9]

In October 2010, when Fernandez began studying the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos aged 15 years and 3 months, he was the youngest Cambridge University undergraduate since William Pitt the Younger in 1773.[10][11][12][13][14]

Fernandez believes it was his exceptional environment rather than exceptional nature, that enabled him to achieve his academic successes.[15] "Everything I achieved is because of my education and the opportunities I had. And the big part of my story is that I never went to school. My parents never believed in the official education system."[16] In a 2020 interview with Raidio Teilifis Eireann he stated his opinion that a large number of people could achieve at the same level if they had the same opportunities as he did, and that those opportunities "would have to start at a very young age", such as at two years old.[17]

Starting in 2000 (aged five) Fernandez had several sequences published in the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS), the number theory database established by Neil Sloane.[18][19][20] Since 2017, he has had more than 20 mathematical research articles published in peer-reviewed international journals.[21][22][23]

Television work featuring Fernandez has included an appearance as a "Person of the Week" on Frank Elstner's talk show on German TV in 2001,[24] and an appearance on Terry Wogan’s and Gaby Roslin's The Terry and Gaby Show on British TV in 2003,[25] when he beat mathematics popularizer Johnny Ball in a live mental arithmetic contest, successfully extracting the fifth roots of several large integers.

In September 2018, having completed master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Cambridge, Fernandez joined the faculty of the Eastern Mediterranean University in Northern Cyprus as an assistant professor of mathematics,[26][27] where in 2022 he became an associate professor. His main research areas are in fractional calculus and analytic number theory.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Student, 18, youngest ever to come top in Cambridge maths finals". Daily Telegraph. 21 June 2013.
  2. ^ Wilkinson, James H. Hammarling, Sven (2003). Encyclopedia of Computer Science. Springer London. ISBN 0-470-86412-5.
  3. ^ Crilly, Tony (2006). Arthur Cayley: mathematician laureate of the Victorian age. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 160. ISBN 0-8018-8011-4.
  4. ^ The previous youngest was probably James Wilkinson in 1939, aged 19 years, 9 months,;[2] up to 1909, the youngest was Peter Guthrie Tait in 1862, aged 20 years, 8 months.[3]
  5. ^ Rakoczy, Agnieszka (10 February 2021). "A focus on maths". Nicosia: Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  6. ^ Jennifer Zamparelli (November 2020). "Jennifer Zamparelli on 2FM" (Interview). Dublin, Ireland: RTE.
  7. ^ "GCSE success stories". BBC. 23 August 2001. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  8. ^ Smithers, Rebecca (22 August 2003). "Bright young things set record". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  9. ^ "Achtjähriges Wunderkind: Klüger ohne Schule". Der Spiegel. 27 August 2003. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  10. ^ "14-Year-Old Prodigy Offered Place at Cambridge". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  11. ^ "Boy who broke GCSE record at five is off to Cambridge". London Evening Standard. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  12. ^ Jones, Sam (7 January 2010). "Cambridge University offers place to 14-year-old". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 9 January 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  13. ^ Garner, Richard (6 October 2010). "Maths prodigy Arran Fernandez is the youngest Cambridge fresher since 1773". The Independent. London. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  14. ^ "Un ragazzino di 15 anni si è iscritto a Cambridge, è record". Quotidiano.net. 3 September 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  15. ^ Forsey, Zoe (24 November 2020). "'I took GCSE at 5 and went to Cambridge at 15 - but I believe it's nurture not nature'". London: Daily Mirror. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  16. ^ Rakoczy, Agnieszka (10 February 2021). "A focus on maths". Nicosia: Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  17. ^ Jennifer Zamparelli (November 2020). "Jennifer Zamparelli on 2FM" (Interview). Dublin, Ireland: RTE.
  18. ^ Smithers, Rebecca (24 August 2001). "Integer sequences? Easy-peasy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  19. ^ Sloane, N. J. A. (ed.). "Sequence A057142 (Occurrences of most frequently occurring number in 1-to-n multiplication table)". The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences. OEIS Foundation. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  20. ^ List of sequences in OEIS authored by Arran Fernandez
  21. ^ "Arran Fernandez MathSciNet profile".
  22. ^ "Arran Fernandez Research Gate profile".
  23. ^ "Arran Fernandez Google Scholar profile".
  24. ^ "Frank Elstner: Menschen der Woche". Presseportal. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
  25. ^ "The Terry and Gaby Show". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
  26. ^ "Dünyaca ünlü genç matematikçi DAÜ'de göreve başladı". Kibris Postasi. 20 September 2018.
  27. ^ "New Faculty Member Assist. Prof. Dr. Arran Fernandez". Eastern Mediterranean University. 3 January 2019.
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