After interning for a year doing tectonic plate analysis at the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Deacon Laboratory, I did a PhD modelling the physics of how glaciers move and the sediments they leave behind, before acting as Physical Properties Specialist for Leg 178 (Antarctic Glacial History and Sea-level Change) of the Ocean Drilling Program.
On my return to dry land, I acted as Research Fellow on a number of projects using computing in the environmental sciences, including building neural networks for flood forecasting and, in the early days of the web, developing online mapping software to enhance public participation in planning environmental risk. I also worked on projects aiming to understand innovation transfer between universities and small and medium-sized enterprises.
When I started work as a lecturer, my research mainly concentrated on Agent Based Modelling (ABM); a method of simulating social and environmental systems. In particular I was involved in early examples of realistic economic modelling with ABM and parallel programming of models of realistic systems. More recently, I have been pushing dynamic data assimilation in ABM (used to make sure models follow reality as closely as possible), and led discussions on the ethics of ABM simulation, especially in crime modelling.
I've been involved in applications in fields as diverse as glaciology, hydrology, ecology, folklore, economic modelling, crime prediction, and environmental risk.
Here's some info on some of my favourite projects. See also papers and publications and talks, where you'll find outputs from all the projects I've worked on.
I enjoy working on collaborations with people. Here's a list of the various researchers and PhD students I've worked with, their projects, and what they're up to now. Many of my students and ex-researchers have excellent blogs. I can recommend:
I've also been lucky enough to know some great academics over the years, and it would be remiss not to highlight Steve Carver of Leeds Uni; Richard Kingston, Jonny Huck, Becky Alexis-Martin and Tina Richardson in Manchester; and the folks at CASA in London, as really positive academics with an infectious excitment for their work.