Professor Ian Wanless

Monash University
School of Mathematical Sciences
Building 28, Clayton
The puzzling mathematician
They say Sudoku puzzles require no mathematics to solve. Australian Mathematical Society 2009 medal winner Dr Ian Wanless disagrees. He views Sudoku as an example of a branch of mathematics called combinatorics. Its outstanding feature is Sunday-afternoon surface simplicity. But mathematical solutions to these puzzles hold surprising conceptual depth and applications in information and communication technology (ICT).