DPhil + Postdoctoral

I completed my DPhil (or PhD) in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford which I started in October 2016. I am researching the impact behaviour of soft polymers and composites with Prof. Clive Siviour of the High Rate Group within the Solid Mechanics and Materials Engineering research group.

Ultimately, the aim of the research is to be able to predict the high rate mechanical response of the material from the knowledge of its composition and simple characterisation experiments.

I would then be able to design efficient structures from these materials to meet specific requirements.

Teaching:

• 1st year core Engineering curriculum – Structures and Mechanics (P3) – Christ Church, St Hugh’s, Pembroke
• 2nd year core Engineering curriculum – Structures, Materials and Dynamics (A3) – St Hugh’s
• 3rd year undergraduate option course – Materials Engineering (B8) – Department of Engineering Science

Conferences, presentations, research trips:

• British Society of Strain Measurement’s International Conference on Advances in Experimental Mechanics – September 2019 – Belfast, UK
  • Young Stress Analyst – First Prize Winner
  • Extended abstract: A novel modelling framework to predict the high rate response of soft materials: Application to (plasticised) poly(vinyl chloride)
• International Rubber Conference – September 2019 – London, UK
  • Poster: Predicting the High Rate Mechanical Response of (Un)filled Natural Rubber
• Society for Experimental Mechanics Annual Conference – June 2019 – Reno, USA
  • Michael Sutton International Student Paper Competition Finalist
    • Extended abstract: Predicting the High Rate Mechanical Response of (Un)filled Natural Rubber
  • Main paper abstract: Predicting the large strain high strain rate mechanical response of plasticised PVC using an improved fractional model
• International DYMAT Conference – September 2018 – Arcachon, France
  • Armourers and Brasiers/AWE Gauntlet Trust Travel Award
  • Abstract: Predicting the high strain rate response of plasticised poly(vinyl
    chloride) using a fractional derivative model
• British Society of Strain Measurement’s Experimental Mechanics Workshop – April 2018 – University of Southampton
  • Wolfson College travel award
• Occupy Mars Seminar – March 2018 – Wolfson College, Oxford
• European Space Generation Workshop – March 2018 – Bucharest, Romania
• Mars Desert Research Station (Expedition 184) – December 2017 – MDRS, Utah desert, USA
  • Wolfson College field research award
  • Department of Engineering Science travel award
• British Society of Strain Measurement’s 3rd Postgraduate Experimental Mechanics Conference – November 2017 – Imperial College, London
  • Award for Best Presentation – 2nd Place
• PhotoDyn Industrial Engagement Event – September 2017 – University of Southampton
• European Conference on Constitutive Models for Rubbers – August 2017 – Munich, Germany
  • Conference Proceedings: A framework for analyzing hyper-viscoelastic polymers
• APS Conference on Shock Compression of Condensed Matter – July 2017 – St. Louis, Missouri, USA
  • APS Student Travel Award
  • Conference Proceedings: Framework for analyzing hyper-viscoelastic polymers
• UK Space Conference – May 2017 – Manchester, UK
  • Blog post on experiences
• European Space Generation Workshop – March 2017 – Paris, France
  • Blog post on experiences
• Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (Scientific and Technical Subcommittee) – February 2017 – Vienna, Austria
  • Blog post on experiences
• Poster Evening – February 2017 – Wolfson College, Oxford
• British Society of Strain Measurement’s 2nd Postgraduate Experimental Mechanics Conference – December 2016 – Mansfield College, Oxford

PGCE

To complete my Postgraduate Certificate of Education in Science, I worked on several assignments delving into pedagogy, educational leadership, and curriculum development. For the Teach First route at the University of Nottingham, this involved three Reflective Journal Assignments and three Written Assessments.

Full texts:

Please use as you wish, but do reference/credit as appropriate

• RJA1: Classroom Management – On the use of rewards and sanctions
• RJA2: Assessment for Learning – On the use of self and peer-assessment
• RJA3: A critical reflection on my continuing professional development (CPD); the extent to which it has, and how it will improve pupil learning; and how it will inform targets for my NQT year
• WA1: Evaluating “Faraday” Community College’s approach to community cohesion
• WA2: Which theory of learning and teaching influenced, and was developed by; your planning, teaching, assessment, and evaluation of a unit of work? Critically evaluate and analyse the contribution of this theory and its application to the unit of work and to pupil attainment
• WA3: What theories influenced your practice in order to improve the learning of two students with similar special educational needs? Critically evaluate and analyse the contribution of these theories and their application to students’ learning

Masters

For my Master’s thesis at Imperial College, I worked under the supervision of Prof. Paul Robinson on the development of shape memory carbon fibre composites for potential space applications. Innovative materials that are able to be flattened for logistical reasons, and then deployed on-demand via the application of heat to their original pre-configured shape.

The videos below highlight the performances of the many different shapes investigated.

Full text: Deployable composite structures thesis

Paper leading from some of the research I helped to conduct: Deployable, shape memory carbon fibre composites without shape memory constituents

Undergraduate

At Imperial College, for my MEng in Aeronautical Engineering, in the Group Design Project, I worked with Dr Mirko Kovac of the then fledgling Aerial Robotics Lab in its founding year to co-direct a project with fifteen other students on bio-inspired autonomous construction.

Full text: Bio-inspired autonomous construction report

High School

My first experience of research was for the Extended Project Qualification for which I investigated the efficacy of various launch vehicles. I presented this at International Space Olympics in Korolev, Russia, for which I attained first prize.