Research Statement

During my D.Phil. at Oxford University, I performed the most comprehensive study of the dynamics of the Centaur population, and created a classification scheme for the objects which allowed an in-depth analysis of their behaviour and evolution to be carried out, and also standardised the classification of cometary bodies in general. Through the selection of individual examples of objects from the ensemble simulated, I highlighted interesting and unusual dynamical behaviour that can be displayed by Centaurs, and also developed a mathematical model to describe the evolution of the various Centaur populations. Additionally, I carried out a critical analysis of claims that an asymmetry in the long-period comet flux was an indication of a distant Solar companion, which involved the first detailed study of the various biases which can affect the discovery of such comets.

On completion of my D.Phil., I moved to the University of Bern, where I continued my analysis of the data obtained in Oxford, highlighting a new delivery mechanism for objects to the Jovian Trojan family. I carried out calculations detailing the dispersion of ejecta from a proposed giant impact involving the planet Mercury, showing that the planet would only re-accrete a small fraction of the material lost, and that Hermean material can be dynamically transferred to the Earth. In addition, I performed a number of tests to determine the accuracy and speed of a new piece of software originally developed by a graduate student to study the late stages of terrestrial planet formation. I also began collaborations with the University of Kobe and the Observatoire de Besançon, looking into various fields within Solar system dynamics and Solar system formation, respectively.

As a visiting research fellow of the Open University (OU), I am continuing the work I began during my time employed there as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Despite my heavy teaching workload at the University of Durham, I continue to lead research into the habitability of planetary systems, initially through studies of the effect of giant planets on the impact flux experienced by terrestrial worlds. The results of my work examining the effect of the planet Jupiter’s mass on the Earth’s impact regime (“Jupiter – Friend or Foe?”) have challenged the long held belief that the planet has acted solely to reduce the number of impacts experienced by the Earth over its lifetime, and has already received a significant amount of public interest and media exposure. I am also working closely with two of the OU's Ph.D. students, leading them in a detailed study of the dynamics of a recently imaged multiple planet system (HR 8799).

Currently, I am heavily involved in collaborations with colleagues at universities in Kobe, Besançon, London (QMUL and Royal Holloway, University of London), St. Andrews, Utrecht, and Münster. These collaborations cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from groundbreaking work on the dynamics of newly discovered populations of small bodies in our Solar system, theoretical studies of the movement of volatiles and high-temperature minerals in the Solar nebula, the formation of terrestrial planets in exo-planet systems which have experienced significant giant planet migration, to the dynamical evolution of debris discs under the influence of massive exo-planets.

I am a named Co-I on two programmes which have been granted guaranteed observing time on the recently launched HERSCHEL space telescope, playing a key ongoing role in the selection of targets for the “TNOs are Cool” observing program, and have contributed to the ESA’s proposed Jupiter-Europa mission. Whilst at the OU, I acted as the post-doctoral representative on the steering group for the university’s new computing cluster, IMPACT, and was heavily involved in both its development and deployment.

In February 2010, I was delighted to be invited to join the committee of the Astrobiology Society of Great Britain (http://www.astrobiologysociety.org/). In that role, I am currently involved in the organisation of the forthcoming conference ASB4: Building Habitable Worlds, in April 2010. I also expect to play a role in the preparation of a special edition of the International Journal of Astrobiology, which will contain the proceedings of the ASB4 meeting.