Oliver Penrose (born 1929) is a British mathematician. He is the son of the scientist Lionel Penrose, brother of the mathematical physicist Roger Penrose, and brother of chess master Jonathan Penrose. He was associated for seventeen years with the Open University, and was a professor of mathematics at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh from 1986 until his retirement in 1994. He holds the title of Professor Emeritus at Heriot-Watt, and remains active in research there. His areas of interest include statistical mechanics, phase transitions in metals, and physical chemistry of surfactants. Other more abstract topics in which he has worked include understanding the physical basis for the direction of time and interpretations of quantum mechanics.
