My friend and colleague Geoff Wain, who has died aged 91, spent much of his life demonstrating how useful and fascinating mathematics can be. He inspired and supported many teachers during a long career at the University of Leeds and in retirement founded the charity MathsWorldUK, with an aim to create a national maths discovery centre in the UK. He had always had an interest in the public image of mathematics, wanting everyone to appreciate its beauty and power. He acted as secretary of the Joint Mathematical Council of the UK, and co-chaired a national committee on the popularisation of maths, leading to an international conference in Leeds in 1989 and to the Pop Maths Roadshow, which attracted more than 250,000 visitors in its tour of UK cities in 1989-92. Geoff had a vision of a permanent centre and MathsWorldUK was launched in 2012 under his chairmanship. Exhibits were produced for maths and science festivals. An international conference of maths museum organisers was hosted at Leeds University in 2016, and, in 2021, MathsCity opened in a retail unit in a Leeds shopping mall, attracting families and school groups to engage with hands-on exhibits. In just over three years there have been more than 43,000 visitors from a wide range of backgrounds. The confirmation of funding and a location for a second, larger, MathsCity in central London arrived just after his death. Geoff was born in London, to Esther (nee Smith), an office worker, and Arthur Wain, an Inland Revenue clerical officer. After attending Drayton Manor grammar school in Hanwell, he studied at King’s College London, gaining a BSc in mathematics in 1954 and a PGCE the following year. A short commission in the Royal Navy was the source of his long-term interests in boats, military history and travel. From teaching practical maths at naval establishments, he progressed to a post from 1958 to 1961 at the Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun, which had an innovative maths curriculum. After a period at a teacher training college, he was appointed as a senior lecturer in mathematics education at the University of Leeds, remaining there for 24 years. He published a book, served as director of teacher training and dean of the faculty of education, and led many British Council courses in Africa, India and south-east Asia. While leading a course in Malaysia, he met his second wife, Zakiah Mohammad Noor; they married in 1975. Later, they spent two years in Sarawak, where Geoff worked as a professor helping launch a branch of the University of Malaysia, following his retirement from Leeds in 1994. Geoff is survived by Zakiah and their children, Johann, Noreena and Daniel, two sons, Alexis and Rupert, from his first marriage, in 1967, to Victoria Cooledge, which ended in divorce, five grandchildren, Frederick, Evie, Sophia, Timo and Rosie, and his sister, Patricia.
Author: Margaret Brown