About me. I am currently a lecturer
in extrasolar planets and low-mass stars at Queen's University Belfast
(QUB). I arrived here in October 2008. Previously I
completed an Astrophysics degree at the University Of St. Andrews
before turning up to do a Phd at Sheffield in the Summer of '99 under
the careful watch of Dr. Vik
Dhillon. My days as a student ended when I took up a Research
Associate
position in April 2002, before becoming a PPARC
Postdoctoral fellow in June 2005.
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I have recently moved research fields and am currently interested in the removal of the effects of star spots on exoplanet searches, as well as detecting and characterising the atmospheres of extra-solar planets. Previously my research interest was in the field of binary stars. These include cataclysmic variables, X-ray binaries, contact binaries and Algols. In particular I study the effects of magnetic activity on the cool stars in these binaries - and have developed techniques that can be used to map features on their surfaces. In my spare time, I also dabble with black holes, accretion discs, neutron stars and pulsars. For more info, hit the research link above when I have finally updated my old pages!!!
A movie of the surface map of the cool donor star in the cataclysmic variable AE Aqr. This is the first ever image showing the presence of cool, dark starspots on the stellar surface of AE Aqr B.
PRESS RELEASE: Ultracam Obtains the First Observational Evidence of a Dead Cataclysmic VariableLast Updated: 13th September 2009