Dr Rob Van Gorder’s research focuses on how physical phenomena can be described, predicted, and controlled using applied mathematics. He works across mathematical modelling, analytical and asymptotic methods, and numerical simulation, applying this combination to a wide range of physical systems.

His interests in fluid dynamics centre on fundamental flow structures—such as vortices, bubbles, waves, and boundary layers—and how they evolve, persist, or break apart. He also studies spatial instabilities and pattern formation, investigating how mechanisms such as Turing and Benjamin–Feir instabilities extend to heterogeneous or non-autonomous systems arising in chemistry, physics, biology, and epidemiology.

In theoretical physics, Dr Van Gorder works on quantum mechanics, quantum fluids, and nonlinear waves, including the dynamics of Bose–Einstein condensates, quantised vortices in superfluid helium, and confined quantum systems. Across these areas, he aims to understand how nonlinear and quantum systems behave under realistic constraints and external forcing.

His recent publications include work on pattern formation and diffusive instabilities in Proceedings of the Royal Society A.

Dr Finyashu Kaka is a materials scientist specialising in sustainable energy technologies, advanced functional materials, and computational modelling. His work spans organic photovoltaics, solid-state and metal-ion batteries, MXene-based materials, and next-generation thermal barrier coatings. He combines physics-based modelling with machine-learning methods to understand and optimise process–structure–property relationships in energy devices. His research appears in leading journals, and he holds several patents in flexible electronics and energy-efficient thermal systems. He is currently working with Professor Jon Chapman as a postdoctoral researcher in OCIAM.

Anne Skeldon’s background is in dynamical systems and bifurcation theory. Her early research focused on pattern formation and fluid mechanics, particularly the Faraday wave problem. She later shifted towards applications in biology and sociology, serving as a co-investigator on the six-year complexity-science project Evolution and Resilience of Industrial Ecosystems. She is part of the Mathematics of Life and Social Sciences research group and co-leads the cross-faculty Centre for Mathematical and Computational Biology.

Her current research centres on sleep, circadian rhythms, and data science. She collaborates with researchers at the Surrey Sleep Research Centre to develop and analyse mathematical models of sleep–wake regulation—work that has featured in the UK parliamentary debate, “School should start at 10am because teenagers are too tired.” She has a particular interest in the influence of the light environment on sleep, including the potential effects of permanent daylight saving time, and in the use of mathematical models for fatigue risk management.

Dr. Kaouri is working on developing models of airborne transmission in indoor spaces, in collaboration with the University of Oxford and funded by the Welsh Government. She continues to create tools for future epidemics. She has also been developing models for IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) and embryogenesis, focusing on the interplay between calcium signalling and cellular mechanics, and she leads the inFer academia-clinic interdisciplinary GW4 network, which aims to improve IVF success rates.