Imre Leader

A silver medal won at the 1981 International Mathematical Olympiad launched the career of Imre Bennett Leader, a British mathematician specializing in combinatorics.

Academic Foundation and Early Training

Born on 30 October 1963, Leader attended St Paul's School in London from 1976 until 1980. His formal higher education took place at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he completed his Bachelor of Arts in 1984, followed by his Master of Arts and doctorate in 1989. During his doctoral studies, his research into combinatorics was supervised by Béla Bollobás. In 2000, he attained the status of Fellow of Trinity College.

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Professional Appointments

Leader held a fellowship at Peterhouse, Cambridge, from 1989 to 1996. He transitioned to University College London, serving as a Reader between 1996 and 2000. Returning to Cambridge, he worked as a lecturer from 2000 to 2002 before serving as a Reader from 2002 to 2005.

Mathematical Contributions and Recognition

The London Mathematical Society awarded Leader the Junior Whitehead Prize in 1999 in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of combinatorics. His work includes a collaboration with Reinhard Diestel on the proof of the bounded graph conjecture. Beyond his individual research, he has contributed to the mathematical community as a leader for the British team at the International Mathematical Olympiad from 1999 to 2001, and as the Problems Group Chairman in 2002.

Achievements in Othello

Parallel to his mathematical career, Leader has maintained a prominent presence in competitive Othello since 1981. He holds 16 titles as the British Othello champion, earned between 1982 and 2022. On the global stage, he secured second place in the 1983 world individual championship and participated in the 1988 British team victory at the world championships. He has also claimed the European Grand Prix Championship title six times, most recently in 2023.