Research Activities

Humboldt University

I work at the Humboldt University of Berlin, in the MATHEON research centre “Mathematik für Schlüsseltechnologien: Modellierung/ Simulation und Optimierung realer Prozesse” (Mathematics for key technologies: modelling, simulation and optimization of real-world processes). I should explain what this means...

Most of my time is spent working on the Matheon project called “Modelling, asymptotic analysis and numerical simulation of thin liquid films” (Matheon project C-10) with Barbara Wagner at WIAS (and formerly, Andreas Münch, now at Oxford).

Family of quantum dot profiles with varying volume. [KEMW07, KE10]

Evolution of a rarefaction fan in the rising thermally-driven film above a meniscus. [EM05, ME04]

Tears of wine. (Photo by Andreas Münch.)

Evolution of the rim of a dewetting, slipping, film. [EKM06]

• Publication information
• Hints on finding some interesting journals in Berlin

Previous work

Industrial Research Limited

After finishing at the University of Delaware, I was a research scientist in the Imaging and Sensing team at Industrial Research Limited, a Crown Research Institute in New Zealand. Some of the things I've worked on:

1. Measurement and calibration of radial lens distortion
   • This was presented at IVCNZ, 2002.
2. Methods for pose estimation given sightings of targets in known positions.

I left IRL in December 2003.

University of Delaware

Previously, I worked on a Ph.D. in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Delaware. My dissertation abstract gives more details on this. I worked in three main areas:

1. Coating flows on a horizontal rotating cylinder
   • I presented a paper on this at the 9th ISCST.
   • The coating on a rotating cylinder can break up to form elongated fingers
     
2. Effects of surfactants on levelling in thin coatings:
   • See A mathematical model for crater defect formation in a drying paint layer.

   • Snapshots from a typical simulation of paint cratering.

     
   • A paper on this was presented at the 10th ISCST.
3. An odd little separating device.

I finished my Ph.D. work in September 2000.

University of Adelaide

Before going to Delaware I worked in the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Adelaide in Australia. I was employed as a research assistant working with John Noye on computational mathematics, tidal modelling and oil-slick tracking in coastal seas.

I spent lots of time using software like GrADS to make some neat presentations. I presented ``A model for fast oil spill trajectory prediction in shallow gulfs'' at the Sixth Pacific Congress on Marine Science and Technology (PACON94).

Before that, I did an Honours project. Using the "TED" tidal model developed by John Noye, Peter Bills, John Nixon, and others, I produced tidal simulations of Gulf St. Vincent, South Australia. I developed a particle-tracking model for oil spills, which used this, and other information, to simulate spills in the Gulf.