My research continues to contribute to fundamental research in the transition to geophysical turbulence alongside more recently developed focus on wind turbine and wind farm aerodynamics, wind energy resource assessment, and the integration of variable power generation into the grid.

An example of the wind turbine and wind farm aerodynamics was a development of a high-resolution computational fluid dynamics model of a wind turbine in its domain used for evaluating the effect of turbulence on the decay of the wake behind the rotor.  This is currently being extended to modelling a full operational offshore wind farm in collaboration with that wind farm’s operator.

The work on wind resource assessment has recently addressed the long-term stability of the wind resource in Scotland, and a current PhD student with industrial funding is developing a novel type of MCP wind resource assessment.

Most recently, I have begun to be interested in the dynamics of an entire grid. be it the national grid or a micro-grid, when supplied with a substantial contribution from variable renewable generation.

Physics graduate from the University of Freiburg, followed by a DPhil in Atmospheric Physics from the University of Oxford, specialising in the application of chaos theory and low-dimensional modelling of geophysical fluid dynamic experiments.  Joined 1997 at Heriot-Watt University as a lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, teaching primarily fluid dynamics and thermodynamics.  Since 2000 Senior Lecturer in Energy Engineering.  In that capacity I have been teaching energy technology and Renewable Energy and developed a portfolio of postgraduate taught Masters programmes.

Recent consultancies included contributions to the design of small wind turbines, a combined heat and power energy storage system (which involved the construction and testing of a proof-of-concept device), and a techno-economic analysis of a planned hybrid wind-pumped hydro storage installation.