[4] Notable mathematicians associated with the university include Christopher Wren who, before his notable career as an architect, made contributions in analytical mathematics, astronomy, and mathematical physics;[5] Edmond Halley who published a series of profound papers on astronomy while Savilian Professor of Geometry in the early 18th century;[6] John Wallis, whose innovations include using the symbol

[9] Dodgson jokingly proposed that the university should grant its mathematicians a narrow strip of level ground, reaching "ever so far", so that they could test whether or not parallel lines ever meet.

[10] A dedicated Mathematical Institute was built in 1966 and was located at the northern end of St Giles' near the junction with Banbury Road in central north Oxford.

[14] The design and construction of the building was informed by the academic staff to incorporate mathematical ideas; Sir Roger Penrose designed a non-periodic pattern (a Penrose tiling) to decorate the ground at the entrance, and two structures where natural light enters the building have "crystals" illustrating concepts from graph theory and the vibration of a two-dimensional surface.

[16][17] In the 21st century, the institute's research topics have come to include quantum computing, tumour growth, and string theory, among other physical, biological, and economic problems.

[22] In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, the institute submitted jointly with the Department of Statistics, getting the highest placement for mathematical sciences in the UK.

[25][1] In 2017, the time allowed for exams was increased from 90 to 105 minutes for each paper for all students, with one motivation being to improve women's scores and close the gender performance gap.

Du Sautoy is the current Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and is known as a television and radio broadcaster as well as an author of popular books on mathematics.

[45] In 2015, the final episode, "What Lies Tangled", of the British television detective drama Lewis was set and filmed in the Mathematical Institute.