Introduction

I am a theoretical physicist, currently working as a research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), within the Center for Theoretical Physics.

Previously, I was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, within the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics and the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology groups.

I received my PhD in physics from MIT, and my BSc and MSc from the University of Sydney (USyd).

Interests

My primary research is in physics at the interface between theoretical cosmology and particle physics, including astrophysics and aspects of field theory. By studying the extreme conditions of the very early universe, as well as the properties of the late universe's dark constituents, and analyzing the results of experiments, we can gain insights into the fundamental laws of nature. This acts as the driving force behind much of my research, although I sometimes investigate other interesting subjects. In particular, I work on:

• Early universe inflation: model building, constraints, reheating
• Dark matter: microscopic properties, methods of probing, structure formation
• Other topics: entanglement entropy, novel quantum phenomena

I have published papers in refereed science journals on each of these topics. You can access my publications from arXiv or inspirebeta and you can download my PhD thesis.

I am interested in teaching science. At MIT I have helped teach courses on quantum mechanics, cosmology, astronomy, and statistical mechanics, as well as supervise undergraduate research projects. At USyd I helped teach courses on classical mechanics and thermodynamics.

On a personal note, I am also interested in the development of my wife's small business Lala's Harvest.

* Pictures at top: Left is a simulated collision at the LHC producing new particles. Middle is the fluctuations in the CMB as measured by WMAP. Right is a simulated web of large scale structure.