School of Mathematics

The Michael and Lily Atiyah Portrait Gallery

The Michael and Lily Atiyah Portrait Gallery opened on the 3rd floor of the James Clerk Maxwell Building on Monday 22nd April 2013, the 84th birthday of Sir Michael. The gallery features 70 black and white photographs of mathematicians through the ages who have influenced the Atiyahs, along with commentaries which can be accessed via an interactive screen or the online version.

The portrait gallery was built by the University of Edinburgh FUSION team, Peter Reid and Mark Reynolds, with funding from the Atiyahs and the University. As well as being an inspiration to staff and students who use the James Clerk Maxwell Building every day, the gallery will also be a focal point for public engagement activities in the building. The touch screen provides countless opportunities for interacting with the gallery and with the stories of its mathematicians. The installation will  collect statistics on which of the portraits is most popular each month.

For background information on Sir Michael and his contributions to mathematics, see the Atiyah80 website. A biography of Lily Atiyah may be found on Celebratio Mathematica.