Hello! I work as a Principal Research Scientist modelling and predicting electromagnetic scattering phenomena. This has straddled the standard boundaries between electro-optical and radio-frequency teams, and included topics relating to radiative transfer, imaging, surface scatter, characterisation of materials, communication systems, synthetic aperture radar, and even nanophotonics/nanoplasmonics.
I enjoy developing connections between disciplines (physics, mathematics, electronic engineering, optical engineering) to solve problems, with a particular focus on digging within the ‘grey literature’.
I completed a PhD in novel optoelectronic waveguide design at the University of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), following an MSc in RF Communication Systems Engineering at the University of Portsmouth and a BSc in Mathematics at the University of Southampton.I have worked in various disciplines in the past, including spending time in the Merchant Navy with P&O Nedlloyd and in the security industry in multiple roles.
I am also an active member of Winchester Boxing Club, and an accidental philosopher. An unusual combination!
Some topics I think about
- Imaging through atmospheric turbulence (e.g. correcting distorted images?)
- The optical response of nanophotonic and nanoplasmonic structures (e.g. Lycurgus Cup?)
- The characterisation (and modelling!) of optical scatter from material (e.g. skin in computer games?) surfaces
- The modelling of wind-blown sea surfaces and their optical scatter (e.g. detecting pollution from above?)
- The microwave characterisation (and modelling!) of dielectrics and their permittivity (e.g. non-destructive testing)
- The optical scatter in turbid media (quality of olive oil?)
- Skywave and ground wave propagation at HF
- Can the education of physics-related topics be improved by providing historical context and student interaction? I did some work with Rallis Papademetriou on this and we are planning on writing a textbook together
I also muse about
- What is the most efficient way to sort odd socks?
- Is my kids’ bad behaviour in some way synonymous to coupled non-linear oscillators?
- How might you model the varying ‘mood’ of someone (me!) on a daily basis
- What approach could be used to model the oscillations of my car and caravan when towing on a bumpy road?
- How are the forces distributed in the alloy wheel ‘spokes’ (and tyres!) of my family car in different scenarios? [I worked with an expert on this topic at one time!]
Popular science articles I’ve written
- Modelling ocean surfaces (PDF available)
- Simulating the effect of turbulence on optical imaging (PDF available)
My professional pages
- LinkedIn: Alexander May
- My side hustle: Synchronous Science
- My email: alexmay@alexmay.net
Some recent streams of consciousness
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The signal and the noise
A placeholder for later!
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He isn’t fish, nor flesh…
“but Mathieu makes every one uncomfortable because he isn’t fish nor flesh, you don’t know how to take him. Look at his hands, for instance…” The Age of Reason, Jean-Paul Sartre
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Running the distance and visualisation
I was honoured to be asked about this. I understand the difficulty of gaining weight when you have young kids – even I had that as a dad! My running took off when we got a rescue dog (Collie/Doberman cross) just before COVID hit for the first time. He is […]