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The privilege of small-group teaching provides motivation for Dr Adam Morgan, who joined ����Ӱҵ College as The Jan Saxl Lecturer in Mathematics earlier this academic year.

The post is named in honour of the late Professor Jan Saxl, who was a Fellow of the College from 1986 until 2020. The teaching need in Mathematics was met through annual appointments in recent years. Welcoming a Mathematics Fellow for the longer term ensures continuity in the teaching of our students and allows Adam to fully invest in the College community. Generous support from alumni made the post possible, strengthening the mathematical offering at Caius.

Adam says: “One of the things that I'm very lucky to do is to work one-on-one or one on two with the students, really get to know them and give them a lot of individual feedback and tailor exactly what I am teaching them –  to revisit concepts, or to go deeper into topics. 

“Wider support from the community enables small group teaching to be possible and it is something which Cambridge is uniquely good at. I’m touched by the generosity of the alumni for allowing me to do this job and for providing to the community of mathematicians at Caius and more generally to undergraduate and postgraduate students.”

Holding a Fellowship named after Professor Jan Saxl is “a massive honour”, says Adam, pictured.

He adds: “I was very much aware of him, but I didn’t get the pleasure of meeting him myself. His name is something that means a lot to me and it’s motivating to feel connected to the great history of Cambridge. I am inspired and driven to do that justice.”

Adam was brought up near Kimbolton, west of Cambridge, and attended Sharnbrook Upper School (now Sharnbrook Academy) in Bedfordshire. It was only when he began A-Levels in Maths, Further Maths and Physics that Adam truly realised his talent for and interest in maths, exploring beyond the curriculum.

He says: “I enjoy the problem solving aspect of it. I think there's a lot of extremely fun, beautiful and surprising results in maths which captivate me. Initially, I was fascinated with the way that maths was able to describe the world around us.”

He was an Undergraduate and Part III student at the University of Cambridge, at Clare College, and completed his PhD at the University of Bristol. He held post-doctoral positions at Warwick, London, Glasgow and the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn, Germany, before joining Caius in October 2024.

Adam will make a huge contribution to our teaching in Mathematics, and I'm delighted that we can now look confidently to the future, welcoming Adam to the College as the first Jan Saxl Lecturer ~ Dr Jonathan Evans

Adam describes his broad interests as number theory and algebraic geometry, with his research concerned with the existence of whole number and rational solutions to systems of polynomial equations.

He says: “These topics touch on a many different areas of mathematics, including representation theory and group theory – which Jan Saxl was most famous for. They sit at the intersection of different fields and that’s been the attraction for me.” 

Adam adds that he values the collaborative nature of mathematics and enjoys learning new theory. He expresses his gratitude to Caius Fellow Dr Jonathan Evans, and to the wider Caius community, for support since his appointment.

Adam was a stellar candidate in a very strong field. Jonathan, Director of Studies in Mathematics, said: “We were looking for an academic with an outstanding research record who would also have a real passion for teaching. Adam showed exactly the right qualities, with a genuine desire to help students, to inspire them to make the most of their abilities, and to give them every opportunity to thrive at Caius. Adam will make a huge contribution to our teaching in Mathematics, and I'm delighted that we can now look confidently to the future, welcoming Adam to the College as the first Jan Saxl Lecturer."