About Me

I am a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the Institute for Astronomy, part of the University of Edinburgh located at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, on Blackford Hill in the south of the city. I specialise in cosmology, the study of the Universe as a whole. I am particularly interested in the evolution of structure in the Universe, from the tiny quantum fluctuations in the early Universe through to the present-day galaxies and stars we see in the night sky. I am interested in the expansion of the Universe and in piecing together the physics of matter and energy which drive this expansion and the behaviour of cosmic structures. To do this I use a range of mathematical, computational techniques, and observational techniques. Visit my research page for more information on my scientific interests.

I live and work in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. Prior to this I spent seven years living in Cambridge, England, where I was an undergraduate and then postgraduate student at Girton College and the Institute of Astronomy, both of the University of Cambridge.

I am originally from the Isle of Man, an island in the Irish Sea lying roughly equidistant between England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The Isle is an almost-independent nation state that has remained distinct from the countries of the United Kingdom throughout its history, and has a unique linguistic and cultural identity influenced by Gaelic and Norse cultures. It also looks amazing and makes great beer. Go visit — if you don’t like it there’s a boat in the morning.