Professor Robert Jack

Robert is an Official Fellow and supervises undergraduate students in Mathematics, sometimes as Director of Studies. At the University he has a dual appointment across two departments as Professor of Statistical Mechanics. He is a University Teaching Officer in both the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Applied Maths and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP). 

Biography

He grew up in Brecon (rural Wales), and studied Natural Sciences (Physics) as an undergraduate at Emmanuel. He moved to Imperial College, London for a PhD, and then took up two postdoctoral placements at the University of Oxford and UC Berkeley. These consecutive positions were followed by a Lectureship/Readership at University of Bath, before moving to Cambridge in 2017. Outside his teaching and research, Robert enjoys singing in choirs and chamber choirs.

Teaching

Robert undertakes supervisions in Mathematics for undergraduates in second and third years. He lectures in Maths for Natural Sciences, computational courses for mathematicians, and the chemistry of soft materials. He also supervises PhD students and masters–level projects in various aspects of statistical mechanics.

Research

His current research interests include the understanding of collective behaviour in systems of many interacting particles or agents. Examples cover many scales, from the atomic to the macroscopic.  For example, dense molecular fluids may exhibit glassy behaviour, where motion becomes very slow, due to crowding effects. In the macroscopic world, collective behaviour includes flocking of birds, as well as the synchronised emergence of insects as temperature increases in the spring. Robert's research also investigates quantum systems, including the mathematical characterisation of rare events where they unusual interactions with their environments.