Quite a few students have worked for me over the years with backgrounds in applied math, physics, and/or pure mathematics. The undergraduate and MSc research projects have usually been studies of exact, perturbative, or numerical black hole solutions while at the PhD level the projects become more involved.

Former and current students are listed below along with their projects to give you some idea of what they worked on. Many of these (graduate and undergraduate) have resulted in
publications. Papers on some others are still in preparation.

If you're interested in working with me on either physical or geometric problems drop by my office for a chat or, if you're not in St. John’s, email me. Please note though that I get many applications and inquiries every year and it may take me some time to answer emails. Also for financial and time reasons, I can only accept one or two new students each year. So, unfortunately, most applications will not be successful.

I'm cross-appointed to Physics and Physical Oceanography and so can supervise Honours and MSc students in either
Mathematics or Physics. At the doctoral level I can supervise degrees in either Mathematics, Physics or Theoretical Physics.
Post-doctoral fellows
  • Juan Margalef (AARMS Fellowship, September 2021 - August 2023)
  • Robie Hennigar (Banting Fellowship, September 2018 - Jan 2021)
  • Andrey Shoom (August 2015 - August 2017)
  • Ben Tippett (Sept 2011 - Aug 2012)
Graduate Students
  • Ayon Tavayef (PhD, Theoretical Physics, September 2023 - present)
  • Chiamaka Mary Okpala (MSc, Physics, January 2023 - present)
  • Liam Newhook (MSc, Physics, September 2022 - present)
  • Sepehr Jafarii**** (MSc, Math, September 2021 - present)
  • Matin Tavayef (PhD, Theoretical Physics, September 2020 - present)
  • Kam To Billy Sievers (MSc, Physics, September 2020 - August 2023)
  • Sarah Muth* (MSc, Math, September 2019 - August 2021): Marginally outer trapped (open) surfaces in 4+1 dimensional spacetimes, (PhD, Theoretical Physics, September 2022-present)
  • Sharmin Akhter**** (MSc, Math, Sept 2018 - May 2021): Rigidity or marginally outer trapped surfaces in RNdS spacetime
  • Sharmila Dhevi Gunasekaran Gnanam* (MSc, Math, Sept 2013 - Dec 2015): Some near horizon studies on Weyl and Vaidya spacetimes; (Phd, Math, Jan 2016 - Jan 2021): Initial Value Problems in General Relativity
  • Saikat Mondal (MSc, Physics, Jan 2018 - December 2020): Black hole horizons during extreme mass ratio mergers
  • Reefat*** (MSc, Physics, Sept 2017 - August 2019)
  • Haipeng Su (MSc, Physics, Jan 2017 - December 2019): Studies on marginally trapped tubes with positive cosmological constant
  • Bradley Creelman (MSc, Math, Sept 2015 - August 2017): Using spacetime surgeries to model bouncing null fluids and null fluid radiation
  • Uzair Hussain* (PhD, Theoretical Physics, Sept 2012 - August 2017): The stage joins the show: aspects of perturbed spacetimes
  • Aghil Alaee* (PhD, Math, Sept 2011 - Dec 2015): Geometric Inequalities for Initial Data with Symmetries
  • Wenjie (David) Tian (MSc, Physics, Sept 2010 - Aug 2012): Deformations of extremal black holes, (PhD Theoretical Physics, Sept 2012 - August 2016): Modified Theories of Relativistic Gravity
  • Aida Ahmadzadegan (MSc, Physics, Sept 2009 - Sept 2011): Fluid-gravity duality for 4D AdS black holes
  • Terry Pilkington (MSc, Physics, Jan 2009 - Dec 2010): Horizon structure of deformed black holes
  • John Bowden (part-time MSc, Math, Sept 2008 - April 2014): Non-commutative Vaidya space times
  • Tomas Liko (PhD, Theoretical Physics, Jan 2006 - Dec 2008): Extending the isolated horizon phase space to string-inspired gravity models
  • Huakun Ding (MSc, Math, Sept 2005-Aug 2007): Surface deformations in Vaidya spacetimes
  • William Kavanagh (MSc, Physics, Sept 2003-Aug 2006): Slowly evolving horizons in perturbative general relativity
Honours Students
  • Zachary Hoyles (Physics, 2022/2023)
  • Liam Newhook (Physics, 2021/2022): Marginally outer trapped surfaces in Reissner-Nordström spacetime
  • Dylan Wilson* (AM, 2018/2019)
  • Shane Andrews**** (AM, 2017/2018): MOTS-free slicings of Schwarzschild spacetimes
  • Cole Walsh (AM/Phys, 2015/2016): Geodesics around distorted Schwarzschild black holes
  • Anna O’Grady (AM/Phys, 2015/2016): Deforming black hole and cosmological horizons
  • Joshua Skanes-Norman (AM, 2014/2015): Spacetime near a Vaidya horizon
  • Peter O'Reilly* (AM/Phys, 2013/2014): Energy conditions for null fluid spacetimes
  • Matthew Hunt* (AM/Phys 2013/2-14): Properties of Melvin-Kerr-Newman black holes
  • Wei Chen* (AM/Phys 2012/2013): Geodesics for topological black holes
  • Mitch Sullivan* (AM/Phys, 2011/12): Geodesics near large AdS black holes
  • Danielle Leonard* (AM/Phys, 2011/2012): Near-horizon behaviour of four-dimension black holes
  • Andrew Day (AM/Phys, 2010/2011): Deformed black holes in an asymptotically flat background
  • Bradley Dart (AM/Phys, 2010/2011): Geometry of gauge theories
  • Michael Barriault (AM/Phys, 2008/09): Surface deformations in Vaidya spacetimes
  • Joseph Fitzgerald (AM/Phys, 2007/08): Weyl-deformed black holes
  • Andrew Critch (Pure Math, 2006/07): Resolving the Banach-Tarski paradox
  • Jonathan Martin (AM/Phys, 2005/06): Distance between event and apparent horizons in Vaidya
  • Lionel Brits (Physics, 2004/05): Formation and evolution of spherical trapping horizons
Recent Undergraduate Student Jobs
  • Zachary Hoyles (part-time summer 2022, summer 2023)
  • Liam Newhook (part-time, summer 2021, summer 2022)
  • Shane Andrews (NSERC USRA, summer 2017): Open MOTS in Minkowski spacetimes
  • Anna O’Grady (MUNSIP, summer 2016): Deforming black hole and cosmological horizons
  • Catherine Woodford** (NSERC USRA, summer 2015) General relativistic corrections in N -body simulations of globular clusters
  • Anna O’Grady* (NSERC USRA, summer 2015) Deforming black hole and cosmological horizons
  • Joshua Skanes-Norman (NSERC USRA, summer 2014) Energy conditions for null fluid spacetimes
  • Michael Grudich (part-time, 2013/2014) Approximate Killing vector fields
  • Peter O'Reilly (NSERC USRA, summer 2013) Robinson-Trautman isolated horizons
  • Michael Grudich (NSERC USRA, summer 2013) Approximate Killing vector fields
  • Danielle Leonard (part-time, 2010/2011) Geodesics near large AdS black holes
  • Andrew Day (NSERC USRA, summer 2010) Marginally trapped surfaces in shell-crossing Tolman-Bondi spacetimes
  • Michael Barriault (NSERC USRA, summer 2007, 2008, 2009) Numerical evolution of trapping horizons in Vaidya spacetime
  • Alex Melanson (NSERC USRA, summer 2009) Horizon structure of deformed black holes
  • Joe Fitzgerald (part-time, summer 2008) Horizon structure of deformed black holes
  • Bradley Dart (part-time, summer 2007) Spherically symmetric event and apparent horizons in Vaidya spacetimes
  • Jonathan Martin (part-time, summer 2006) Distance between event and apparent horizons in Vaidya
* Indicates a student co-supervised with Hari Kunduri.
** Indicates a student co-supervised with John Lewis.
*** Indicates a student co-supervised with Aleksandrs Aleksejevs and Svetlana Barkanova
**** Indicates a student co-supervised with Graham Cox.