Keith Devlin

Keith J. Devlin (born 16 March 1947) is a British and American mathematician and professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is known for his work in mathematical cognition, information theory, and the public communication of mathematics. Devlin has authored more than 30 books and numerous scholarly articles. He was a regular commentator on National Public Radio (NPR) as “the Math Guy” and is the co-founder and President of BrainQuake, an educational technology company that develops mathematics learning games.

Education He was born and grew up in England, in Kingston upon Hull, where he attended Greatfield High School.

Career Later he got a position as a scientific assistant in mathematics at the University of Oslo, Norway, from August till December 1972. In 1974 he became a scientific assistant in mathematics at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. In fall 1976 he was an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Toronto, Canada. From spring 1977 through 1987 he served as a lecturer, then reader, in mathematics at the University of Lancaster, England. From 1987 to 1989 he was a visiting associate professor of mathematics and philosophy at Stanford University in California. From 1989 to 1993 he was the Carter Professor and Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Colby College in Maine. From 1993 to 2000 he was Dean of Science at St. Mary's College of California.

His current research is mainly focused on the use of different media to teach mathematics to different audiences. He is also co-founder and president of the company BrainQuake, which creates mathematics learning video games, which he set up in 2011. Other topics of his research are the theory of information, models of reasoning, applications of mathematical techniques in the study of communication, and mathematical cognition.

As of 2023 he had authored 33 books and over 80 research or expository articles. Most of his books are aimed at a general audience. 2004 International Pythagoras Prize in Mathematics, in the category Best Expository Text in the Mathematical Sciences for the Italian translation of The Millennium Problems Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, 2012