Inaugural Lecture : The Legacy of Fermat's last Theorem

The Legacy of Fermat's last THEOREM

In the 17th century, Pierre de Fermat stated – and claimed to have proved – an elegant mathematical theorem, stating that a certain equation has no solutions in the whole numbers. Generations of mathematicians tried to find a proof of this theorem, but the problem resisted attack for more than 350 years, until it was solved in 1995 by Andrew Wiles and Richard Taylor. Professor David Loeffler will explain the problem, and some of the beautiful and intricate ideas that played a role in its solution; and he will explain some more recent mathematical developments arising from the same circle of ideas which are still the focus of intense research today.