Biography

Originally qualified as an Electronics Engineer and worked with a subsidiary of GEC Telecommunications on a variety of electronic business systems, commissioning, maintenance and a limited amount of development work.

Joined British Antarctic Survey in 1976 and did two years, followed by a further year, at Halley Station, Antarctica. Duties were operation and maintenance of the ionospheric observatory, but also included analysis of the data. I initiated a study of night-time ionospheric features at Halley (the Mid-Latitude Trough) and carried out several innovations to the antenna system and control electronics.

In 1981 I was the Antarctic field engineer for BAS’s first digital ionospheric radar system, which also incorporated the first mini-computer that BAS deployed in the Antarctic. Another first (we think!) was the construction of the tallest man-made object in Antarctic, as I led the construction of  two 45m high masts for the antenna system.

From this point on I pursued a dual track with BAS, developing radar systems for studying the auroral ionosphere and publishing the science results, usually in collaboration with satellite experimenters.

From 1986 I was the Project Manager for the Halley SuperDARN radar, an advanced over -the- horizon radar system capable of measuring the motion of the ionosphere over  a large (3 million sq. kms) part of East  Antarctica. (See www.superdarn.jhuapl.edu for further details). This was a very productive science period, combining a state of the art instrument with extensive international collaboration and access to a very wide range of datasets. The radar enabled us to make significant advances in understanding how the solar wind interacts with the Earth’s magnetopshere and upper atmosphere.

From 1995 I was  Group Leader for the Solar Wind/Magnetopshere/Ionosphere/Thermosphere group, leading that reaseach activity. From 2000 I was part of the Magentic Reconnection and Substorm project team but gradually started asusming more senior management duties. Scientifically, this period was very satisfying, with the group successfully moving from an experimental basis to one that incorporated more theory and modelling elements.

In 2004 I was appointed Head of Physical Sciences Division and becanme a member of the BAS Board.

In 2009, with the reorganisation of the science management structure, I became Board Member for Science Delivery with responsibility for delivering science across the six science programmes.

In 2014 I took partial retirement, now working 3 days per week. I am providing project support to the BAS Directors, working on a variety of internal (to BAS) and international liaison projects.

Research interests

Space weather: in particular ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling and the flow of energy through the geospace system.

Engineering: development of radio systems for space weather research.

Earth System Science: a basic understanding so that I can set different elements of science (inside and outside BAS) in context.

Collaborations

I have collaborated with most institutes involved in the SuperDARN radar network (http://vt.superdarn.org/tiki-index.php) and various satellite mission teams in NASA and ESA. Within the UK collaborations with the Univeristies of Leicester, Bath and Imperial College London have bene particularly fruitful.

I have led the management activity, until summer 2015, in BAS’s collaboration with the Netherlands Polar Programme (http://www.nwo.nl/en/research-and-results/programmes/Netherlands+Polar+Programme) at Rothera station.

I am currently collaborating with the S. Atlantic Environment Research Institute (SAERI – http://south-atlantic-research.org/) on the future science for S. Georgia project.