Teaching

Semester 1

Advanced Theoretical Techniques

During my third-year Advanced Theoretical Techniques class, which is part of the module PHY00074H, we study the mathematical tools which underpin modern theoretical physics. With these powerful techniques, my students are able to solve advanced problems in theoretical physics and beyond. The course consists of 22 lectures in which we study

  • Integral transforms, such as Fourier and Laplace, Green functions, and how they can be used to solve linear differential equations
  • An introduction to non-linear differential equations
  • The calculus of variations, which is used in classical and quantum mechanics, optics, field theories and more
  • Tensors and how they are used to transform physical laws between reference frames, for example within Special and General Relativity.

All my lecture notes are available to students via the virtual learning environment (VLE).

Second-year core Mathematics*

I teach mathematics to the second-year undergraduates as part of the following modules PHY00056I/45I/47I. My class is core to the students' learning and covers some of the most important areas of mathematical physics, for example

  • Vector calculus, which is essential for studying electromagnetism, fluid dynamics, quantum mechanics and more
  • Fourier series and transform, both of which are key tools for signal analysis, imaging and tomography, quantum mechanics and beyond.
All lecture notes are available through the VLE.

Semester 2

First-year core Mathematics

I teach mathematics to the first-year undergraduates as part of the module PHY00033C. My class is core to the students' learning and covers some of the most important areas of mathematical physics, for example

  • Vector calculus, which is essential for studying electromagnetism, fluid dynamics, quantum mechanics and more
  • Solving second-order differential equations that describe the behaviour and dynamics of many systems in physics
  • Fourier series and transform, both of which are key tools for signal analysis, imaging and tomography, quantum mechanics and beyond.
All lecture notes are available through the VLE.

Second-year core Mathematics*

I teach mathematics to the second-year undergraduates as prt of the following modules PHY00058I/55I/57I. My class is core to the students' learning and covers some of the most important areas of mathematical physics, for example

  • Solving second-order differential equations that describe the behaviour and dynamics of many systems in physics
  • Linear algebra in its matrix form, which is used in quantum mechanics, electronics and circuit theory and optics, among other fields.
All lecture notes are available through the VLE.

*This module is a transistion module designed to ensure that students who had terms in their first year do not miss any core mathematics as we change to semesters.



Previous modules

Computational & Mathematical Techniques for Theoretical Physics

In this second-year theoretical physics class, which is now part of the module PHY00059I, I covered

  • Finite difference methods
  • Complex analysis
  • The calculus of variations
  • Special functions.
This module is now taught by Dr Emma Osborne.

Advanced Computational Lab

I was head of the third-year Advanced Computational Lab. During my lab, students used the skills they had developed in computational and theoretical physics over their 3 years of study to tackle challenging, research-style physics problems. The current head of the Advanced Comp Lab is Dr Yvette Hancock.