Our papers are the official record of our discoveries. They allow others to build on and apply our work. Each paper is the result of many months of research, so we make a special effort to make them clear, beautiful and inspirational, and publish them in leading journals.
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- Citations
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Geometry
RF
TF
Physical Review EGeometry of discrete space
A phase transition creates the geometry of the continuum from discrete space, but it needs disorder if it is to have the right metric.
Inference
RF
ZVMHEG Physical Review MaterialsGrain shape inference
The distributions of size and shape of a material’s grains can be constructed from a 2D slice of the material and electron diffraction data.
Sphere packing
RF
VHMH Mineralogical Magazine3d grains from 2d slices
Moment-based methods provide a simple way to describe a population of spherical particles and extract 3d information from 2d measurements.
Theory of innovation
TF
MR
RPRF Nature CommunicationsSerendipity and strategy
In systems of innovation, the relative usefulness of different components changes as the number of components we possess increases.
Graph theory
Eigenvalues of neutral networks
The principal eigenvalue of small neutral networks determines their robustness, and is bounded by the logarithm of the number of vertices.
Thermodynamics
Optimal heat exchange networks
Compact heat exchangers can be designed to run at low power if the exchange is concentrated in a crumpled surface fed by a fractal network.
Sphere packing
Viscosity of polydisperse spheres
A fast and simple way to measure how polydisperse spheres crowd around each other, termed the packing fraction, agrees well with rheological data.
Network theory
Easily repairable networks
When networks come under attack, a repairable architecture is superior to, and globally distinct from, an architecture that is robust.
Fractals
Structural imperfections
Fractal structures need very little mass to support a load; but for current designs, this makes them vulnerable to manufacturing errors.
Sphere packing
Random close packing fractions
Lognormal distributions (and mixtures of same) are a useful model for the size distribution in emulsions and sediments.
Fractals
Gentle loads
The most efficient load-bearing fractals are designed as big structures under gentle loads, a common situation in aerospace applications.
Fractals
Ultralight fractal structures
The transition from solid to hollow beams changes the scaling of stability versus loading analogously to increasing the hierarchical order by one.
Fractals
Hierarchical space frames
A systematic way to vary the power-law scaling relations between loading parameters and volume of material aids the hierarchical design process.
Ignoble research
Shear elastic deformation in cells
Analysis of the linear elastic behaviour of plant cell dispersions improves our understanding of how to stabilise and texturise food products.
Theory of materials
Diffusional liquid-phase sintering
A Monte Carlo model simulates the microstructural evolution of metallic and ceramic powders during the consolidation process liquid-phase sintering.
Sphere packing
Ever-shrinking spheres
Techniques from random sphere packing predict the dimension of the Apollonian gasket, a fractal made up of non-overlapping hyperspheres.