Profile

I’m from Belgium, studied in Germany, and have been living in the UK for about 5 years.

I am a mathematician, both in spirit and by education, but the bits of maths I like most are where it connects to physics, engineering and computer science.

I love running and am happy to live in a country where it is a popular sport. My bucket list events are the London Marathon and the Great North Run, but my favourite place to run is in the Lake District.

I volunteer as a newsletter editor for my local running club. To make this job easier I wrote a python script that collects all parkrun results of our club members automatically. I find it very satisfying when my professional skills come in useful in everyday life like this.

My research is about the abstract geometry behind many of the equations used in physics. Understanding this geometry can help us to develop new theories in physics. It also allows us to do more accurate computations to predict the behaviour of many real-life systems, ranging from water waves to the orbits of planets.

I also like to talk about the mathematics behind familiar phenomena. Ask me about the mathematics and physics of rainbows, the geometry of athletics tracks, or why we can predict the orbit of a comet hundreds of years in advance, but not the weather two weeks from now.

Research is a mix of doing computations by myself, discussing with colleagues while scribbling on a blackboard, and attending (or sometimes presenting) seminar talks.

Teaching at university typically involves lectures, where I do most of the talking and explain the theory to the students, and tutorials, where I guide student through exercises. I also supervise students doing a final year project as well as a PhD student.