Regius Professor

There is a select group of professors in the UK who are appointed by the Queen. Now Kenneth Falconer, who has the office across the corridor from mine, has joined this group.

Kenneth works on geometric analysis, specifically fractal sets and their geometry. He has written several good books on this, and has built up a powerful group in St Andrews.

Kenneth is also a long-time member of the Long Distance Walkers’ Association, and regularly takes part in their hundred-mile walks. In the latest issue of their journal Strider, he features several times: as the setter of the cryptic crossword, as the setter of the “Puzzlers’ Plod”, and profiled in a question-and-answer session.

Benoit Mandelbrot said that the coastline of Britan is a fractal; its measured length depends on the scale of measurement used. No doubt Kenneth could tell us the length of the coastline measured at the scale of his impressive stride!

Anyway, warmest congratulations to Kenneth!