Biography

First degree, University of Edinburgh, PhD work CERN, Geneva, Switzerland. Subsequently switched to research at frontiers of electronics. Designed the first solid-state device to be dubbed “nanoelectronics” the quantum point contact in the mid eighties. Went on to design the first controllable single electron device. Such devices, and their derivatives, now form a major part of current research in electronics and solid state physics though mainstream technology has yet to catch up with their use in mass-produced devices.

Research interests

Research at Glasgow since the early nineties has focussed mainly on the development of a new theory of matter and light. The theory aims (and claims) to be consistent with all experiment at ultra high-energy, at the level of ordinary matter, and at the very low energy end. A new underlying paradigm (a new field theory related to Maxwell electromagnetism) describes the underlying nature of both (rest) massless particles such as light and massive particles such as electrons protons and neutrons. The new theory reduces to many of the current set of familiar frameworks in the relevant limits. This has been shown to be the case for a subset of the fields of physics including electromagnetism (relativistic) quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. Where experimental “mysteries” appear in these fields the new paradigm helps to clarify them.

Expertise

Electronics, solid state physics, quantum mechanics, relativistic quantum mechanics, quantum electrodynamics, quantum chromodynamics, the standard model and gravitation. About a hundred papers in refereed journals.

IOP grant. Public engagement.

The research is too challenging for conventional supervision.

Large courses in early years including the main first and second year analogue electronics classes as well as an advanced maths course.

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