work_institution birth_place nationality field birth_date residence image article_title name alma_mater
heilbronn institute for mathematical research llandybie , carmarthenshire , wales british mathematician yes 1941 england elmer rees.jpg elmer rees
 elmer gethin rees university of cambridge university of warwick
elmer rees

elmer gethin rees , cbe , frse -lrb- born 1941 -rrb- is a mathematician with publications in area ranging from topology , differential geometry , algebraic geometry , linear algebra and morse theory to robotics .
he held the post of director of the heilbronn institute for mathematical research , a partnership between bristol university and the british signals intelligence agency gchq , from its creation in 2005 until 2009 .
rees was born in llandybie and grew up in wales .
he studied at st catharine 's college , cambridge gaining a b.a. before moving on to warwick for his ph.d. .
his career had taken him to hull , institute for advanced study , swansea and st catherine 's college , oxford before becoming a professor at the university of edinburgh in 1979 where he remained until retiring from the post in 2005 .
he was elected as a fellow of the royal society of edinburgh in 1982 .
one of his most notable legacies was the establishment of the international centre for mathematical sciences .
rees was appointed commander of the order of the british empire -lrb- cbe -rrb- in the 2009 birthday honours .
