Mark Watts

Nerdy type who enjoys mathematics, computer programming and web programming. Avid collector of degrees. Other interests are music, especially opera and choral, cryptic crosswords (only The Times Quick Cryptic, not the 15X15), sailing, skiing (cross country and downhill), hiking and biking. Used to also love running until poor knees let me down.

Lives in happy retirement with wife, Lynda, in small village in Switzerland. Three grown children with their families in London, New York, Geneva.

Trained as Theoretical Physicist, then worked as Nuclear Engineer, then in IT , Supply Chain, and Business Improvement.

Realised ambition to study mathematics on retirement in 2011 by pursuing M.Sc. in mathematics with Open University, graduated in 2017.

Programming started with Fortran 4 (university and nuclear engineering) then Visual Basic for Excel (simple macros plus Sudoku solver) then C# (very general Sudoku solver) then php and JavaScript (web programming)

Main claims to fame

• Portrait in Tate by Sickert, who MAY have been Jack the Ripper, MAY be of my grandmother (chicken).
• Lynda’s uncle MAY have taught Dylan Thomas at Swansea grammar school.
• Lynda’s sister in law IS a cousin of Richard Burton who is buried in Céligny, about 4 km from our house.
• Friend Tony Guttmann hosted Paul Erdös to lunch.