Meet the Speaker – Elliot Carr

We interviewed Dr Elliot Carr from Queensland University of Technology to find out the broad applications of his work and the things that he is most proud of

 

1. What are your favourite applications of your work?

The mathematical models and computational techniques that I work on generally find application to a wide range of physical, industrial and biological applications. Specific practical applications that I have studied include groundwater modelling, wood drying, drug delivery and burn injuries.

2. Why did you become a mathematician?

I definitely didn’t plan to become one! Towards the end of high school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do career-wise and didn’t know how other students could just pick a specific profession straight out of high school. I just knew I was good at maths and enjoyed it so decided to pursue it at university with little idea of where it would lead. During university I continued to do well and this lead to enjoyable research opportunities and eventually to where I am today.

3. Do you have any advice for future researchers?

If you want to pursue university research as a career, the most important thing (I believe) is to publish as many high-quality journal articles as possible during each stage of your career. If possible, submit your thesis by publication rather than by traditional monograph. The more high-quality journal articles you publish the easier it will be to move to the next stage of your career (e.g. PhD to postdoc or postdoc to permanent). Securing a postdoc overseas also looks great on your CV.

4. What do you consider your biggest achievement to date?

In mathematics, my highlights include: winning a university medal in 2008; publishing my first paper in 2011 (even though it was under review for over a year!); securing an ARC DECRA fellowship in 2014 and, more recently, being promoted to Senior Lecturer. Outside of mathematics, I am an avid runner and breaking 16 minutes for the first time at my local 5k parkrun in 2017 was a massive thrill.

Dr Elliot Carr will be presenting the topic Computational homogenisation of complex heterogeneous media at the 2019 Winter School at Queensland University of Technology this July