Sonoma, CA, August 2003.
Brief Biography
Since October 2007, I have been postdoctoral scholar in applied mathematics at UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, working with Professors Jon Wilkening and Jamie Sethian. I've been extending my previous work on dense granular flow, and also learning about many new continuum numerical techniques.
I've also been making regular visits to the Department of Physics in UC Santa Barbara, where I have been working with Jim Langer, Frederic Gibou, and Lisa Manning on continuum simulations of amorphous plasticity. I've also been colloborating on a number of different research projects at Clark University, Sandia National Laboratories, and the University of Michigan.
Doctoral degree
I completed my doctoral degree in mathematics at MIT during the summer of 2007. For my thesis, I worked with Professor Martin Z. Bazant in the Dry Fluids Laboratory. Our work focused on gaining a better understanding of flow in dense granular packings, and we also looked at many side projects, such as diffusion limited growth, simulation problems in random walks, and continuum PDE problems. During my time there, I collaborated with Gary Grest and James Landry from Sandia National Laboratories, and worked with fellow graduate students Ken Kamrin, Kevin Chu, Jaehyuk Choi, and Pak Wing Fok.
The MIT Applied Mathematics department is very diverse, and during my time there, I was able to interact with people with a wide variety of backgrounds and interests. From 2005 to 2006, I organized the Simple Person's Applied Math Seminar which was a great way to learn about new topics. I gave six talks there, on subjects ranging from pi to black holes.
Undergraduate degree
From 1998 to 2002 I studied at Pembroke College in the University of Cambridge, completing an undergraduate degree in Mathematics, and also the one-year Part III Mathematics graduate level course. While there, I specialized in theoretical physics, taking courses in General Relativity and Quantum Field Theory. When not studying, I founded the Cambridge University Jugglers' Association with Robert Whittaker and Tom Price. In collaboration with Jonathan Pritchard, Robert Whittaker, and Iain Murray, I wrote the Pembroke College Virtual Tour, a site which subsequently became extremely popular with prospective students.
Thirlmere in the Lake District,
Christmas Day, 2001.
Napes Needle and Scafell Pike,
December 29, 2003.
Background and interests
I am originally from the English Lake District in the northwestern corner of England, which is one of the most beautiful parts of the country. When growing up, I spent most of my summers there, going on long hikes every day. Since moving to Boston, I still keep this activity up, and make regular trips to the New Hampshire White Mountains, and Acadia National Park. In September 2006 I organized the MIT GSC Orientation Hike for 110 incoming graduate students.
Since moving to Boston, I have also taken up long-distance running, and I completed the Chicago Marathon in October 2005. I regularly run half-marathons and I completed the Tri-State Half Marathon Series during 2006. In my spare time, I like to cook and take photos. I've traveled around a lot of the US, and I've also been fortunate enough to visit Greece, Egypt, China, and most recently Arequipa and Cusco in Peru.