Summary

I am a Senior Teaching Fellow in physics, based in the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation with a background in observational astrophysics. My research interests include galaxy evolution, low mass galaxy formation and the impact of active galactic nuclei on the evolution of low-mass galaxies.

Biography

I obtained an MPhys in Physics with Astronomy from Cardiff University, followed by my PhD in Physics from the University of Nottingham in 2010. After this, I took up a six month Australia Awards Postdoctoral Fellowship at Swinburne Univerity of Technology (Melbourne, Australia)  in March 2011, followed by an ARC Super Science Fellowship at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia) between September 2011 and September 2014. 

I then moved to the University of Portsmouth in September 2014 as a Senior Research Associate, before taking up my current role as a Teaching Fellow in Physics in September 2018, becoming a Senior Teaching Fellow in September 2021. 

Research interests

My research primarily examines how the smallest galaxies in the Universe, known as dwarf galaxies, evolve in the nearby Universe. I carry out this research primarily through spectroscopy. In particular, I am interested in how and why such galaxies stop forming new stars, and my research suggests that supermassive black holes may play a role in this. I am also interested in the evolution of extremely isolated galaxies, as these galaxies are important tests of the processes internal to galaxies that shape their colours, morphologies, and star formation activity. 

Teaching responsibilities

I am the module coordinator for several modules devered as part of the undergraduate Physics and Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology degrees. I coordiate the following modules:

• M20273: Introduction to Mathematical Physics 1
• M20274: Introduction to Mathematical Physics 2
• M20509: Universe: Planetary Systems, Stars and Galaxies
• M24582: Observation Astronomy and Cosmology
• M24583: Advanced Research Project

I also assist with the delivery of the modules "Introduction to Computational Physics" and "Space Science and Applications of Physics". 

In addition to teaching these modules, I supervise final year projects for third and fourth year undergraduates, and I am a tutor at Maths Cafe.