Lambda calculus (also written as λ-calculus) is a formal system in mathematical logic for expressing computation based on function abstraction and application using variable binding and substitution. It was first introduced by mathematician Alonzo Church in the 1930s as part of an investigation into the foundations of mathematics. Lambda calculus is a universal model of computation equivalent to a Turing machine (Church-Turing thesis, 1937). Its namesake, Greek letter lambda (λ), is used in lambda terms (also called lambda expressions) to denote binding a variable in a function.