Nonlinear Biomedical Physics

Department of Physics

Tom Hansard

Tom Hansard

I got my first taste of medical physics in my final year MPhys project, which involved the fascinating study of the rhythms of the heart, lungs and brain and how these three oscillators interact differently under anaesthesia. For me, this was a fascinating introduction into a branch of physics that I felt had more applicability to the real world than any other of my undergrad modules and more importantly this line of work has the potential to change lives by making the process of anaesthetization a safer one.

The actual work itself was great because it integrated many skills from my previous 3 years of study and opened up a whole Pandora's box of questions; some of which I'm now trying to answer as part of my PhD research! The combination of the research field and the atmosphere of this group within the Physics Department made the choice to continue to PhD studies an easy one. Most of the PhD and MPhys students have desks in the same room, making for quite a relaxed, friendly environment and there are often quiet discussions going on in the background as one of the more experienced PhDers try to help others answer questions or explain ideas to them.