Swansea graduate receives Quantum Advisory award

A Swansea University graduate has been awarded the Quantum Advisory Prize 2021 for his contribution to mathematics following an in-depth study of Delay Differential Equations.

Benjamin Phelps studied mathematics at Swansea University and was presented with the award at his virtual graduation ceremony on Wednesday July 28 following the exceptional content of his final year project.

The Quantum Advisory Prize – presented by corporate pension experts Quantum Advisory – is awarded to mathematics students who have excelled at Swansea University during their final year and recipients also get a financial award to kick start their career.

Dr Dmitri Finkelshtein, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Swansea University, said: “Ben’s project was about Delay Differential Equations, an area of mathematics that deals with processes whose future stages depend not only on the present stage but also on the past ones, as is the case in many real-world processes. The topic lies outside of the standard undergraduate curriculum as it requires the handling of various mathematical techniques combined with creativity and intuition. Ben made a superb self-contained manuscript, written in a rigorous way, which provides a perfect and detailed introduction to the topic.”

Benjamin said: “This project was an entirely different challenge to any I have faced before in my degree. However, I embraced it wholeheartedly and pushed myself to see what I could do. After a difficult year this award is the perfect gratification for all my hard work.

“Although I doubt I will use my newfound knowledge of Delay Differential Equations again, I am sure that the soft skills I developed along the way will be incredibly valuable when I start my career as an auditor in September. I would like to thank Quantum Advisory for this prize, it was an honour and will be a massive help, as well as my supervisor Dr Dmitri Finkelshtein for all the support he gave me this year.”

The Quantum Advisory Prize comes just a few months after Benjamin was featured in the ICAEW 100, identifying him as one of the top students in the UK with the potential to be in the next generation of business leaders.

Now, after graduating with a first-class honours degree, Benjamin is taking the first steps in his career and has secured a position as an Audit Trainee at BDO LLP in Bristol.

Stuart Price, Partner and Actuary at Quantum Advisory, said: “We are delighted to partner once again with Swansea University to award the Quantum Advisory Prize. We work closely with the University and this Prize provides us with the opportunity to give something back.

“Each year the students astound us with their knowledge, enthusiasm and understanding of highly complex subjects and this year’s winner Benjamin is no exception. We are looking forward to seeing his career progress and maybe our paths may cross again in the future.”

Quantum Advisory, which has five offices across the UK, including Amersham, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and London, provides pension and employee benefits services to employers, scheme trustees and members. For more information about Quantum Advisory, please visit https://quantumadvisory.co.uk.

Image credit: Rhys1234567890, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons