John Webb is Cape Town born and bred. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) from UCT in 1962 and a PhD from Cambridge in 1966. Since then he has been a member of the staff in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. He has been actively involved in outreach programmes for schools, with a focus on competitions and Olympiads, at local, national, African and international level.
- Director of the UCT Mathematics Competition since 1987
- Launched the South African Inter-Provincial Mathematics Olympiad in 1990.
- Led South Africa into the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in 1991 and the Pan African Mathematics Olympiad in 2000.
- Secretary of the IMO Advisory Board, 2000-2012.
- Directed IMO2014 in Cape Town – the first IMO in Africa.
Honours:
1984: University of Cape Town Distinguished Teacher Award
1992: Paul Erdős Award, World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions
1997: Claude Harris Leon Championship in Mathematics Teaching Award
2002: Award for the Advancement of Mathematics, South African Mathematical Society
2015: Award of the South African Mathematics Foundation