St John's alumnus joins Channel 4's Countdown team

Dr Tom Crawford is a Fellow by Special Election at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and a Lecturer in Applied Mathematics at Robinson College, Cambridge. Tom is also the Public Engagement Lead at the University of Oxford's Department for Continuing Education.

Beyond his teaching commitments, Tom runs an award-winning outreach programme through his website ’Tom Rocks Maths’ which hosts videos, podcasts, puzzles and articles that aim to make maths entertaining and understandable to all.

Tom's read for his undergraduate degree in Mathematics at St John's, matriculating in 2008. During his degree, he was a dedicated member of the College football team, playing in the 2009 Cuppers-winning side — a victory commemorated by one of his 61 tattoos. (See his website for details!)

After completing a PhD in Fluid Dynamics at the University of Cambridge, Tom returned to St John’s College as the Access and Outreach Associate for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) as part of the Inspire programme.

On Monday, 24 February, Tom joins Countdown on Channel 4, stepping in for long-standing mathematician-in-residence Rachel Riley MBE. He will appear alongside host Colin Murray and lexicographer Susie Dent for three weeks.

Interestingly, there is a long-standing connection between St John's and the Channel 4 game show. The St John's vs Oriel men's football fixture is now known as the 'Countdown Cup', after opposing players Kai Laddiman (St John's) and Eoin Monoghan (Oriel) realised ahead of a 2018 cup fixture that they had both previously competed on the game show when they were children!

Good luck, Tom, with your stint on the show!