“Every subject generates its own legends, like the search for Atlantis, or the quest to translate ancient hieroglyphics,” says Andrew Wiles, professor of mathematics. “There's a romance and excitement around these kinds of problems. When they're solved, one can sense that history has moved forward.”

It's not surprising to hear Wiles speak in such romantic terms about abstract intellectual puzzles. He knows firsthand the thrill of discovery. In 1994, he stunned the world by announcing he had found a solution to Fermat’s Last Theorem, one of history’s most notorious mathematical problems.

For centuries, Fermat’s Last Theorem was, in a way, the lost Atlantis of math. Penned by French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the 17th century, the theorem states that there is no non-zero solution in integers for the following equation: aⁿ + bⁿ = cⁿ (for n>2). During the centuries that followed, generations of mathematicians tried to supply a solution and failed.

Wiles came to the theorem as a schoolboy. “I saw it in a math book in the public library,” he recalls. “It was a simple question; even I could understand it at age 10.” The simplicity of the problem itself, however, was only part of the appeal. “I saw that a math problem could be part of a larger story, and I realized I wanted to be part of that story.”

Wiles continued to pursue the puzzle throughout high school and into his career as a professional mathematician. After toiling in secrecy for more than eight years, he unveiled a preliminary proof in 1993, only to realize his solution contained flaws. He continued to work on the problem with the assistance of a former student, and at last inspiration struck later in 1993.

“I was sitting at my desk when suddenly I had this incredible revelation,” he recalls. “It was so indescribably beautiful. It was so simple and elegant.”

The achievement made Wiles an instant celebrity, garnering him a variety of awards including the Shaw Prize, a MacArthur Foundation fellowship and a special honor from the International Mathematical Union.

Today, Wiles continues to ponder some of the most renowned puzzles of his field, but he's just as dedicated to training the next generation of aspiring mathematicians.

“In the mathematics department,  we consider teaching to be an essential part of the experience,” he says. “All of our faculty members teach in the classroom.” He regularly teaches undergraduate and graduate courses, and he enjoys serving as a mentor on student theses. “Teaching makes you explain what you are doing and why,” he says. “Of course the students are the main beneficiaries but you also really learn as you teach.”

For Wiles, teaching also harks back to his start in mathematics when he read Fermat’s Last Theorem for the first time at age 10. “When you're teaching someone who is excited about the field, you re-experience that excitement,” he says. “It helps you remember why you were excited in the first place.”