PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Environment, Kingston University I worked as an engineer in the automotive industry for 25 years, followed by a brief stint working in the claims industry. Finally, for the last 12 years, I have been teaching mathematics and physics up to A-level standard. I am now a PhD research student in the area of Astrodynamics. Whilst working as an engineer I became a technical trainer, writing and running courses, some of which were Geometric Tolerancing, Experimental Design, Robustness and Presentation Skills. I worked on the shop floor and in production engineering as well as in quality control. As a technical trainer for an engineering management and training company, I became the company subject matter expert for Experimental Design and Taguchi Methods. My PhD project aims to create a computer simulation of the time and space-dependent nature of spacecraft trajectories. Based on the knowledge gained from these simulations, exemplar trajectories for space mining activities will be explored. The project requires the use of astrodynamic methods to analyse and identify possible low-fuel trajectories to asteroids within our solar system. Stable and unstable manifolds will be used to find heteroclinic connections between different Three-Body planetary systems. An ephemeris model and statistical analysis will identify trajectories that optimise time and fuel requirements.
Senior Lecturer in Economics, Newcastle University I joined Newcastle University Business School in September 2023 as a senior lecturer specialising mostly in behavioural and experimental economics. Previously, I was assistant professor at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China from 2018-2023. I was awarded a PhD in behavioural economics in 2017 by the University of Nottingham, where I conducted my research within the world-leading behavioural economics research centre CeDEx, of which I also became local director for its China branch from 2019-2023. I maintain a position as an external Senior Fellow at CeDEx China. My research has been published in leading journals such as the American Economic Review, European Economic Review, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Public Economics and Oxford Economic Papers. I use a variety of experimental and non-experimental methods to study a range of topics across economics and touching upon related social sciences. Findings have been covered by media organisations, including the BBC, the Independent and the Daily Mirror.
Lecturer in Kinesiology, Strength and Conditioning, Loughborough University Tom Balshaw graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Exercise Science from the University of Cumbria (2006-09) before pursuing a Neuromuscular Physiology-focused PhD (2009-13) at the University of Stirling. He was appointed as a Post-doctoral Research Associate at Loughborough University in 2014 and worked on numerous research projects supported by charity and industry funding prior to accepting his current lectureship role at Loughborough University (2021). Tom’s research aims to examine the efficacy of novel resistance training-based interventions, and investigate the underpinning nervous system, skeletal musculature, and tendinous tissue adaptations following such interventions for the purposes of enhancing function, informing exercise prescription/rehabilitation practices, and injury prevention.
Professor of Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan Todd began his professional career as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy where he learned the practical applications of operating a nuclear power plant as well as how to take a submarine to periscope depth. Following active duty, he built on that practical Navy experience by earning a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering with specific focus on how radiation changes the physical properties of metals. His first post-Ph.D. position was as a staff scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. While at Argonne, he joined the leadership team tasked with developing the Generation IV Roadmap, the document that framed the resurgence of the nuclear research programs early in the 21st Century. Following Argonne, he joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin. While there, he split his time between establishing a premier material science program at the university and supporting the Idaho National Laboratory. At INL, he led the transition of the Advanced Test Reactor into a national user facility, creating a unique distributed network of national research facilities working together to support novel research ideas brought by universities and private industry. He also ran a six-institution Energy Frontier Research Center focused on answering fundamental questions about heat transfer in nuclear fuel. From 2013-2016, he helped lead the Idaho National Laboratory as the Deputy Laboratory Director for Science & Technology, including being an important contributor to the development of the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative announced at the White House in November 2015. He is the author of over 200 technical publications, many of which are readable. Todd has degrees in nuclear engineering and management information systems. He is a native of Michigan and tries very hard to find ways to watch baseball. His best summer ever (2016) was 64 different stadiums across the U.S.
Associate Professor, Centre for Health Economics, Monash University Terence Cheng is a health economist and an Associate Professor at the Centre for Health Economics, Monash University. His broad research interest is on the economics of health systems, with an emphasis on how public and private health care systems interact. His work focuses on the roles that public and private sectors play in financing and delivering health care, and on the implications of this public-private interface for health system outcomes and performance.
Lecturer in psychology, Liverpool Hope University Tobiasz is a lecturer at Liverpool Hope University. His research program aims to understand how the human brain perceives the visual world, and how perception is influenced by experience and learning. He studies this question by examining how visual and conceptual knowledge interacts to influence our representations of objects, faces, and scenes. Tobiasz's current research projects explore the mechanisms underlying the role of socio-cognitive factors in the perception of other-race faces. Moreover, he is also interested in understanding the impact of individual and cross-cultural differences on aesthetic experience. The techniques he uses include a combination of behavioural, eye tracking, and statistical methods. Tobiasz holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Southampton. Before joining Liverpool Hope University, he did postdoctoral research at New York University in Abu Dhabi.
