George Gheverghese Joseph, Kerala and Manchester

George Gheverghese Joseph was born in Kerala, Southern India, and lived in India until he was nine. His family then moved to Mombasa in Kenya where he received his schooling. He studied at the University of Leicester and then worked for six years as a teacher in Kenya before returning to pursue his postgraduate studies at Manchester.

His teaching and research have ranged over a broad spectrum of subjects in applied mathematics and statistics, including multivariate analysis, mathematical programming and demography. In recent years, however, his research has been mainly on the cultural and historical aspects of mathematics with particular emphasis on the non-European dimensions to the subject and its relevance for mathematics education.

In January 2000, he organised an International Seminar and Colloquium to commemorate the 1500th year of Aryabhata's famous text, Aryabhateeyam, which was held in Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala, India.

His publications include four books: Women at Work ( Philip Allan, Oxford, 1983), The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics ( 1st Hardback Edition, Tauris, 1991; 1st Paperback Edition, Penguin 1992, 2nd Edition, jointly by Penguin Books and Princeton University Press, 2000), Multicultural Mathematics: Teaching Mathematics from a Global Perspective (Oxford University Press, 1993) and George Joseph: Life and Times of a Kerala Christian Nationalist (Orient Longman, 2003). The last named book is a political biography of his grandfather, George Joseph, a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawarhalal Nehru and other leaders of modern India. A Malayalam translation of the book is imminent. He is also the author of about 70 articles and chapters in books.

He is at present working on two projects: a history of Indian mathematics and a joint project with Dennis Almeida of the University of Exeter, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board, on 'Medieval Kerala Mathematics: The Possibility of its Transmission to Europe'.

At present he holds joint honorary appointments at Universities of Exeter and Manchester, United Kingdom and at University of Toronto, Canada.