Prof David Burgess

David Burgess

Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy

School of Physical and Chemical Sciences
Queen Mary University of London
www.qmul.ac.uk/spcs/staff/academics/profiles/dburgess.html
Centre for Fundamental Physics

Research

Interests

* Space and Astrophysical Plasma Physics
* Shocks in collisionless plasmas
* Turbulence and Particle Acceleration in collisionless plasmas
* Large scale, highly parallel plasma simulation

I am interested in how we can use plasma physics to study natural plasmas, such as the solar wind which blows through the Heliosphere. The space environment motivates much of my work, because we can measure these plasmas in situ, with a spacraft acting like a probe into the plasma - getting ground truth that is practically impossible for other distant astrophysical objects. At the same time what we learn from solar system plasmas can be applied to remote astrophysical environments such as super nova remnant shocks and the interstellar medium. This area of research depends on data from international space missions supported by ESA and NASA, so I have collaborative links with groups across Europe and the USA.