I have had a varied career. I have worked as a research engineer at one of the world’s best universities, taught science in a variety of formal and informal settings, and engaged in various creative activities. I have recently started a new life in a new country where I have pursued every opportunity to complement my academic knowledge with practical experience in mechanical and auto-electrical work.

I have a strong desire to quantify the natural and engineered environment, such that our conservational efforts may be most effective, and that our innovations and interventions may be most sustainable. This needs not only rigorous science, but also inspiring science communication, without which our best insights are liable to be misunderstood or simply ignored.

Mathematical modelling has been the focus of my working life, having worked in academic thermofluids research and social-analytical software engineering. My teaching experience has allowed me to complement analytical skill with explanatory skill, but I consider the two areas inherently aligned. If I can't explain a complex system to you, I haven't understood it myself.

ENGINEER

I have spent much of my career as a researcher in engineering science at Oxford University. I extended my undergraduate degree to a Master of Engineering with a year-long project in computational fluid dynamics modelling. I remained at Oxford to also earn a Master of Science by Research, writing a full thesis throughout my late twenties while working as a tutor, lab demonstrator, and science writer. My thesis contributes to our understanding of applied mathematics in gas turbine blade geometry, and was published in early 2022.

I have also worked in software engineering, where I was well-placed to learn the required skills thanks to my background in computational modelling. I worked for a start-up where I was responsible for frontend and backend code, and for interface design. This turned out to be a significant undertaking from which I became a proficient mobile app developer for both Android and iOS.

INSTRUCTOR

I have worked as a science, maths, and engineering tutor for nearly a decade. I began tutoring during my postgraduate study, spending the next few years acquiring clients, increasing my online presence, and building a reputation as a tutor. I have gone on to teach a diverse range of people including high school students, undergraduates, professionals sitting engineering qualifications, and Armed Forces members undergoing engineering training. I solicit tutoring work on the website First Tutors, where I have a 5-star rating.

During my postgraduate study, I took the opportunity to do as much teaching work within Oxford as possible. Oxford is known for its small-group college tutorial system, a tradition which continues to distinguish it from other universities.

TECHNICIAN

Since emigrating to Australia, I have committed to enhancing my engineering knowledge with as much hands-on mechanical and auto-electrical skill as possible. I have taken every opportunity to acquire experience in automotive mechanics, frequently undertaking maintenance and repair work for clients in North Canberra. My particular focus has been on electrical work, which has involved completing a variety of 12V accessory installations or modifications in the last two years.

EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Rolls-Royce plc & University of Oxford, MSc(Res) in Engineering Science, awarded 2022

My thesis presented a simplified mathematical approach to modelling the capacity (a pseudo- dimensionless mass flow rate) of an aeronautical gas turbine. I produced models using 2-dimensional computational fluid dynamics, which were compared with 3-dimensional predictions made by the engine- maker Rolls-Royce. This allowed insight into the dimensionality of the phenomena which drive gas turbine capacity. The key finding of the study was that all capacity prediction errors ultimately result from a lack of information about the effective cross-sectional area of the flow passage immediately downstream of the engine’s combustor.

University of Oxford, MEng in Engineering Science, 2:1, graduated July 2013

1st-class honours in 1st year exams, awarded college scholarship
Team leader, 3rd year group project: analysis of America's Cup yachts. The team produced an on-paper design for a motion-platform simulator of a racing catamaran. I built a new computer model for the sail and hull fluid dynamics.
1st-class honours, 4th year final research project: 2D flow simulation of the complex rigid sail from the last project. A unique flow phenomenon was captured and used to explain the high performance of the sail design. I initiated this research rather than taking a project assigned by the faculty.

NADATA Ltd, software engineer, 2018-2020

I founded NADATA in 2018 with the goal of developing a mobile app. The app was targeted to people in cities with abundant nightlife options, and was intended to guide users in choosing the ideal place to go among multiple competing nightlife venues.

I was responsible for frontend and backend design. Frontend was built in Java for the Android version, and in Swift for iOS, both using SQLite to manage information on nearby venues. Backend involved a mySQL database mediated by an API built in NodeJS for Firebase.

Early versions of the app relied on publicly available venue information such as reviews and opening times, and used a simple cosine-matching algorithm to quantify user-venue matching. Our growth plan involved transitioning to the use of user-generated data with a machine-learning algorithm. At the time of ceasing operations, I was bench-testing a neural network for this purpose in MATLAB.

Both Android and iOS apps completed alpha testing. After hiring a small number of marketing and admin personnel and preparing to enter the market, all development halted shortly after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. This was based on my conclusion that nightlife activity had entered an indefinite hiatus, reducing our product's market beyond commercial viability.

Although unsuccessful as a start-up, thanks to my work at NADATA I returned to academia with a huge upgrade to my coding ability. I became a proficient mobile app developer for both Android and iOS, and acquired considerable experience with SQL and NodeJS. My published research would not have been at the same standard, but for the skills gained in my detour into app development. I consider this an example of how I have benefited from a non-linear career path.

University of Oxford, postgraduate tutor, 2014-2016

I gave undergraduate tutorials in my own college, St John’s, as well as in the Department of Engineering Science. This included both sit-down tutorials on set problems, and practical demonstrations in the Department’s aerodynamics and hydrodynamics labs. Practical demonstrations were by far my favourite part of the job, in particular the department’s Pelton turbine, which communicated a wide array of turbomachinery and dynamics principles - in my opinion a masterpiece of hands-on science demonstration.