My research interests centre on nonlinearity in physical and biomedical systems. Work with colleagues and international collaborators focuses on the superfluidity of liquid He-4 and its breakdown through production of rotons or quantized vortices above critical velocities – requiring the preparation and use of isotopically pure He-4. Research on the stochastic dynamics of nonlinear oscillators and large fluctuations illuminates: classical turbulence; wave turbulence and quantum turbulence in superfluids; neutron dynamics in fluid helium; origins of rogue waves; selective passage of ions through biological ion channels; and the nonlinear dynamics of ageing, anaesthesia, autism, brain function and cardiovascular diseases.

Biographical Sketch:

• Born: Omagh, co. Tyrone, 17 October 1940
• Educated: Queen's University, Belfast (BSc 1962), University of Oxford (DPhil 1966)
• Employment: Junior Demonstrator, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford 1963-1966; Research Associate, Duke University, 1966 - 1968; Research Associate 1968, Lecturer 1970, Senior Lecturer 1979, Reader 1983, Professor 1991, all a Lancaster University
• Miscellaneous: DSc, Queen's University, Belfast 1983; FInstP 1983; SERC/EPSRC Senior Fellowship 1990 - 1995; Chair, Standing Conference of Professors of Physics (UK and Ireland) 2003 - 2005.
• Head of Department of Physics, Lancaster University 1997 - 2003.

External Collaborations:

Active collaborations include links with:

• University of Manchester
• University of Ljubljana
• Redeemer's University
• Charles University

Conferences

Physics of Biological Oscillators: New Insights into Non-Equilibrium and Non-Autonomous Systems in Chicheley Hall, 27-30 November 2018

ESGCO-2016 International Conference on Biological Oscillations

Workshop on Fluctuations and Coherence 2011

BRACCIA Conference 2008