I am a theoretical and computational physicist with interests spanning particle, nuclear and condensed matter physics. After studies at first Cambridge then Edinburgh universities, followed by postdocs at Oxford, Illinois, Glasgow and CERN, I joined the newly-formed particle theory group at Swansea University in 1993. In the same year I was one of six winners of a bottle of vintage champagne from the cellar of the then Minister of Science William Waldegrave, for an A4 description of the Higgs boson!
In 2009 I led the UKQCD consortium bid for high performance computing equipment in an STFC initiative that led to the establishment of the DiRAC facility, and have been a member of the Project Board ever since, becoming co-chair in 2017. During this time I helped prepare the Science Case for DiRAC 3, as well as attending Oversight Committee meetings, and representing DiRAC as a partner organisation of the STFC-supported Bristol-Cardiff-Swansea Centre for Doctoral Training in Data Intensive Science. I’m also an investigator on two DiRAC projects, exploiting both ES and DI facilities – one a large scale study of QCD at non-zero temperature and baryon density as part of the FASTSUM collaboration, and as PI of a smaller project to study “Flatland” quantum field theories in 2 space and 1 time dimension.
In 2021 I joined the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Liverpool, and stepped down from the PB to become DiRAC’s first Community Development Director. A founding principle of the DiRAC facility is to be directed primarily by its users’ science; this exciting new role is a marvellous opportunity to learn about every facet of DiRAC science, along the way facilitating communication between DiRAC and its users, helping improve their experience, and hopefully encouraging new users to join our community.
