Hey, I'm Richie!

I'm a Theoretical/Mathematical Physicist based in Durham, UK.

Academia Stuff

I took the MPhys in Theoretical Physics at Lancaster University, UK in the years 2014-2018 and graduated with a first class degree. My masters' thesis, which looks at how to build spacetime cloaks (or at least that's the selling point...), under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Gratus, is available here.

After Lancaster I spent a year at home doing my own studies where I focused mostly on the mathematical foundations of theoretical physics. I worked both through video courses available online (both via YouTube and Perimeter's PSI Master's Programme) as well as several sets of notes (particularly the Cambridge Part III courses). This year really highlighted that my interests lie in the applications of abstract mathematics (in particular differential geometry) to physics. Some of the notes I took during this year off are available here.

I then took the Particles, Strings & Cosmology MSc at Durham Uni in 2019-2020 (ah, 2020...). A lot of the notes on this website are those for the courses I took on this course (sometimes significantly added to). As part of the course, I did a summer dissertation project on Twistor Theory, supervised by Professor Richard Ward. All these notes are available here.

I have just (October 2020) started my PhD at Durham Uni and will be working under Dr. Andreas Braun. The official title is "Exceptional Mirror Symmetry & The String Worldsheet". A lot of the work I do revolves around studying applications of differential and algebraic geometry to complex manifolds, in particular Calabi-Yau manifolds. As I do my PhD, I am making background notes on the material, and any such notes that I am comfortable sharing are available here.

Personal Side

Of course I have a life outside of maths and physics, and my main interests include listening to music (particularly hip hop, although I am a fan of all sorts!), wood working (but I am far from being a professional here...) and BJJ (still a trusty white-belt, though). I used to do a lot of card magic and was actually a semi-professional magician (hence the logo to the side -- try spot my initials!), but I don't do too much of that anymore. Apart from that I would say I'm just a "normal" guy; I like spending time with friends, playing my playstation and generally relaxing. I hope this more "laid back" vibe can sometimes be felt in my notes, as I am all too aware of how hard academic notes can be to read when too formal!