Research (accessible)

My research sits in an area of science called particle physics: this is the study of the tiny, fundamental building blocks of matter. Specifically, I'm interested in why protons and neutrons form from constituent smaller parts called quarks and gluons. We know that these particles stick together in clumps, because we observe the clumping in experiments and computer simulations, but we still don't have a complete mathematical explanation for why this clumping happens! It's called the confinement problem and it's really tough so much so that it has been included as one of the Clay Mathematics Institute's Millennium Problems.

I am trying to make progress on this problem by simulating these particles on a supercomputer (a very large group of computers) and then analysing their behaviour using a novel area of mathematics and data science called topological data analysis. Topology deals with the fundamental properties of shapes like the number of parts and the number of holes a shape has. When analysing large, complicated, noisy datasets, topology turns out to be very useful at extracting relevant information.

I presented the below poster to MPs at the Houses of Parliament in March 2025 at the STEM for Britain final -- it is aimed at a general audience.