Research output per year
Research output per year
Dr
I am an STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellow at Northumbria University.
My primary scientific expertise is in Birkeland currents, which play a key role in space weather effects on Earth. They are electrical currents which flow between the boundaries of the Earth's magnetic field and the Earth's atmosphere. When the Sun's activity affects the Earth, it is Birkeland currents that relay the effects to the ground, where the impacts can be felt on ground-based infrastructure.
Prior to joining Northumbria University in 2022, I was at the University of Southampton from 2015–2022, during which time I worked on Birkeland currents as well as working on substorms and Northward IMF dynamics. I obtained my PhD and first-class MPhys at the University of Leicester between 2007–2015.
In my other endeavours, I have extensive public engagement experience as PI of the Southampton Planeterrella. I was Chair of MIST Council in 2019–21, and I am on the STFC PEER Forum review panel.
My primary scientific expertise is in Birkeland currents. I am internationally recognised for my research into Birkeland currents with the AMPERE dataset, having contributed a review chapter to an AGU monograph and been invited to speak on the topic internationally, including at the AGU Fall Meeting 2019. Perhaps most notably, I discovered the interhemispheric asymmetry in Birkeland currents in my 2016 paper.
Alongside this, I have expertise in Cluster data. I used this dataset to examine the energy budgets of substorms and showed that during substorms, magnetic energy was stored and released sooner when the spacecraft was closer to Earth, consistent with the "inside out" substorm model. I also used Cluster data to survey hot plasma in the magnetotail lobes, statistically addressing open questions about this plasma for the first time. I have coauthored papers on both topics, alongside papers using MMS data to examine flux transfer events.
Physics, PhD, The role of Birkeland Currents in the Dungey Cycle, University of Leicester
16 Jan 2012 → 20 Mar 2015
Award Date: 15 Jul 2015
Astrophysics, MSc, Physics with Astrophysics MPhys, University of Leicester
Oct 2007 → Jun 2011
Award Date: 14 Jul 2011
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review