Prof. John Webb

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

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