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ABOUT
MY RESEARCH
What is dark matter? What is dark energy? What does the large-scale structure of our Universe look like and how did it come to be this way?
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These are some of the questions at the heart of my research.
In search of answers, I study how the light from millions of distant galaxies is weakly gravitationally lensed as it travels for billions of years through the cosmos to be captured by our telescopes here on Earth. The astronomical observations fuelling my work are taken by the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), a collaboration in which I have an active role, often leading key scientific analyses.
Aided by machine learning methods and numerical simulations, I use observations from KiDS to test Einstein's Theory of General Relativity and investigate the nature of the dark side of our Universe.
WHO AM I
I am a Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. I completed my PhD, supervised by Prof Catherine Heymans at the University of Edinburgh in 2019. My thesis focused on improving the precision of cosmological parameter constraints derived from weak gravitational lensing, using a combination of theoretical modelling, simulations and machine learning. Prior to this I received my Master's in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Birmingham in 2015.
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When not conducting research, you will find me engaging in science communication with the public, or performing music with the Edinburgh-based folk-rock ensemble, The Darjeeling Feeling.
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OUTREACH & TEACHING
I regularly engage in outreach through newspaper/magazine articles and interviews, delivering lectures to the public, and I have even appeared on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe performing science-themed stand-up (definitely more nerve-wracking than my thesis defence!) More information on these activities can be found below. Please get in touch if you have an outreach request.
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Teaching is also a large part of my academic life. I am proud to have supervised several Master's, Senior Honours and Summer Research students. Furthermore, I have lead or assisted in teaching courses on astronomy, quantum mechanics, special & general relativity and cosmology.
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RESOURCES
Follow the links below to see examples of my research / science communication.