In 2008, the Texan physicist Thomas Fink had the idea for creating an independent British institute for physics and maths.

The then head of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, Peter Littlewood, told him, “An institute cannot live on grants alone.” But Caltech's Tom Tombrello, who had mentored Fink on his Physics 11 course, encouraged the idea.

The institute is committed to curiosity-driven, theoretical research as this has historically led to the most far-reaching breakthroughs, such as gravity and electromagnetism.

[7] Research at the London Institute spans four themes: Mathematics that unifies; The elegant universe; Life, learning and emergence; and the Theory of human enterprise.

[14] In addition to its scientists being unencumbered by teaching duties, it employs coders, writers, analysts and designers, as well as experts in storytelling, development and building partnerships.

The reason, as explained by Director Thomas Fink in The Daily Telegraph, is that it's only when they share the same physical space that they can solve the workplace equivalent of the “stable marriage problem”, optimising the balance between interaction and solitary focus.

[17] Writers at the Institute publish articles in newspapers and magazines from Nature to The Times and The Guardian, celebrating its research and values, and contributing to the debate on how to fund and carry out science.

[19] In 2021, the Institute's Fellows Thomas Fink and Yang-Hui He interviewed the Nobel Physics Laureate Roger Penrose in the Theatre.

Its Board of Trustees includes Sir Roy Anderson, FRS, formerly the chief scientist at the Ministry of Defence; Sir John Beddington, FRS, formerly the UK government's chief scientific adviser; and Martin Reeves, Global Director at Boston Consulting Group.