Dr. James Wurster Astrophysics Group School of Physics University of Exeter Stocker Road Exeter EX4 4QL Phone: +44 01392 723445 Email: j.wurster@exeter.ac.uk Web: http://www.astro.ex.ac.uk/people/wurster/ ORCID: 0000-0003-0688-5332 Employment 2016 present Research Fellow Astrophysics Group School of Physics and Astronomy University of Exeter Exeter, England 2013 2016 Research Fellow Monash Centre for Astrophysics (MoCA) School of Physics and Astronomy Monash University Melbourne, Australia Education 2008 2013 Ph. D. Astronomy Saint Mary s University (SMU) Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Title: Feedback from Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN): A Study of its Impact and Numerical Implementations Advisor: Dr. Robert J. Thacker 2006 2008 M. Sc. Astronomy Queen s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada Title: Defining Gravitational Singularities in General Relativity Advisor: Dr. Kayll Lake 2002 2006 B. Sc. (Honours) Mathematics and Physics The University of Western Ontario (UWO) London, Ontario, Canada Honours Thesis Title: Simulating the Hydrodynamic Collapse of a 3D Molecular Cloud Honours Thesis Advisor: Dr. Shantanu Basu Publications Refereed journal publications J. Wurster, M. R. Bate, and D. J. Price. The effect of extreme ionization rates during the initial collapse of a molecular cloud core. MNRAS, 476:2063 2074, May 2018. J. Wurster, M. R. Bate, and D. J. Price. The collapse of a molecular cloud core to stellar densities using radiation non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics. MNRAS, 475:1859 1880, April 2018. J. Wurster, D. J. Price, and M. R. Bate. The impact of non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics on binary star formation. MNRAS, 466:1788 1804, April 2017. D. Liptai, D. J. Price, J. Wurster, and M. R. Bate. Does turbulence determine the initial mass function? MNRAS, 465:105 110, February 2017.
R. Iaconi, T. Reichardt, J. Staff, O. De Marco, J.-C. Passy, D. Price, J. Wurster, and F. Herwig. The effect of a wider initial separation on common envelope binary interaction simulations. MNRAS, 464:4028 4044, February 2017. J. Wurster. NICIL: A Stand Alone Library to Self-Consistently Calculate Non-Ideal Magnetohydrodynamic Coefficients in Molecular Cloud Cores. PASA, 33:e041, September 2016. M. L. A. Richardson, E. Scannapieco, J. Devriendt, A. Slyz, R. J. Thacker, Y. Dubois, J. Wurster, and J. Silk. Comparing Simulations of AGN Feedback. ApJ, 825:83, July 2016. J. Wurster, D. J. Price, and M. R. Bate. Can non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics solve the magnetic braking catastrophe? MNRAS, 457:1037 1061, March 2016. J. Wurster, D. Price, and B. Ayliffe. Ambipolar diffusion in smoothed particle magnetohydrodynamics. MNRAS, 444:1104 1112, October 2014. R. J. Thacker, C. MacMackin, J. Wurster, and A. Hobbs. AGN feedback models: correlations with star formation and observational implications of time evolution. MNRAS, 443:1125 1141, September 2014. D. J. Williamson, R. J. Thacker, J. Wurster, and B. K. Gibson. Cloud angular momentum and effective viscosity in global SPH simulations with feedback. MNRAS, 442:3674 3685, August 2014. J. Wurster and R. J. Thacker. A comparative study of AGN feedback algorithms. MNRAS, 431:2513 2534, May 2013. J. Wurster and R. J. Thacker. Accretion disc particle accretion in major merger simulations. MNRAS, 431:539 553, May 2013. S. Basu, G. E. Ciolek, W. B. Dapp, and J. Wurster. Magnetically-regulated fragmentation induced by nonlinear flows and ambipolar diffusion. New A, 14:483 495, July 2009. S. Basu, G. E. Ciolek, and J. Wurster. Nonlinear evolution of gravitational fragmentation regulated by magnetic fields and ambipolar diffusion. New A, 14:221 237, April 2009. Conference proceedings J. Wurster, M. R. Bate, D. J. Price, and T. S. Tricco. Investigating prescriptions for artificial resistivity in smoothed particle magnetohydrodynamics. Proceedings of the 12th international SPHERIC workshop, Ourense, Spain, June 2017. Submitted journal articles J. Wurster and Z.-Y. Li. The role of magnetic fields in the formation of protostellar discs. Submitted to Frontiers. J. Wurster, M. R. Bate, and D. J. Price. Hall effect-driven formation of gravitationally unstable discs in magnetized molecular cloud cores. Submitted to MNRAS. J. Wurster, M. R. Bate, and D. J. Price. On the origin of magnetic fields in stars. Submitted to MNRAS. D. J. Price, J. Wurster, C. Nixon, T. S. Tricco, S. Toupin, A. Pettitt, C. Chan, G. Laibe, S. Glover, C. Dobbs, R. Nealon, D. Liptai, H. Worpel, C. Bonnerot, G. Dipierro, E. Ragusa, C. Federrath, R. Iaconi, T. Reichardt, D. Forgan, M. Hutchison, T. Constantino, B. Ayliffe, D. Mentiplay, K. Hirsh, and G. Lodato. Phantom: A smoothed particle hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics code for astrophysics. ArXiv e-prints. Accepted to PASA. Invited Talks Feb. 2018 Dec. 2017 1st Phantom Users Workshop, Melbourne, Australia. Physical and Artificial Resistivity (in smoothed particle magnetohydrodynamics). Computational MHD Workshop 2017, Leeds, England. Smoothed Particle Magnetohydrodynamics. Conference Presentations June 2018 1st European Phantom Users Workshop, Milan, Italy [Contributed talk].
May 2018 May 2018 February 2018 February 2018 August 2017 June 2017 March 2017 Sept. 2016 August 2016 August 2016 July 2016 February 2016 Sept. 2015 June 2015 February 2015 July 2014 February 2014 March 2012 Seminars April 2018 January 2018 October 2017 Sept. 2017 Sept. 2017 May 2017 Sept. 2016 February 2016 February 2016 August 2015 June 2015 April 2015 August 2014 June 2014 Sept. 2012 Public Talks Sept. 2017 The Olympian Symposium 2018: Gas and stars from milli- to mega- parsecs, Paralia Katerini, Mount Olympus, Greece [Contributed talk]. Cosmic rays: Salt of the star formation recipe, Arcetri, Florence, Italy [Contributed talk]. 1st Phantom Users Workshop, Melbourne, Australia [Contributed talk]. Magnetic Fields or Turbulence?, Hsinchu, Taiwan [Contributed talk]. Seventh Annual Dirac Science Day, Exeter, England [Contributed poster]. 12th International SPHERIC workshop, Ourense, Spain [Contributed talk]. Star Formation: From Cores to Clusters, Santiago, Chile [Contributed poster]. Sixth Annual Dirac Science Day, Edinburgh, Scotland [Contributed talk]. Star Formation 2016, Exeter, England [Contributed poster]. Star Clusters: From Infancy to Teenagehood, Heidelberg, Germany [Contributed poster]. The Role of Feedback in the Formation and Evolution of Star Clusters, Sexten, Italy [Contributed poster]. Australian National Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Melbourne, VIC, Australia [Contributed talk]. Protoplanetary Disk Dynamics & Planet Formation, Yokohama, Japan [Contributed talk]. Disc dynamics & Planet formation, Larnaka, Cyprus [Contributed poster]. Australian National Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Canberra, ACT, Australia [Contributed talk]. AGN vs Star Formation: The Fate of the Gas in Galaxies, Durham, England [Contributed poster]. Australian National Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Sydney, NSW, Australia [Contributed talk]. Turbulence in Cosmic Structure Formation, Tempe, Arizona, United States [Contributed poster]. University of Southampton, Southampton, England. Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA), National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. University of Leicester, Leicester, England. Centre for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA), University of Toronto (Stars & Planets discussion), Toronto, Canada. University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Monash Centre for Astrophysics (MoCA), Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. University of Exeter, Exeter, England. Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia. Monash Centre for Astrophysics (MoCA), Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Monash University (Fluids Seminar Series), Melbourne, Australia. University of Exeter, Exeter, England. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. University of Central Lancashire, Preston, England. Monash Centre for Astrophysics (MoCA), Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Saint Mary s University, Halifax, Canada. North Bay Astronomy Club, North Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Technical Skills Summary Computer Fortran, Python, GNUplot, L A TEX. Languages Primary Numerical Codes Numerical Modelling Code Development Smooth Particle (Magneto-)Hydrodynamics (SPH, SPMHD): PHANTOM, HYDRA. Grid: ZEUS-3D. SPHNG, Run high-resolution simulations to analyse the physical evolution and final state. Run suites of simulations to perform systematic comparisons to determine the effects of varying algorithms and parameters. Use pre-written and self-written analysis programmes (Fortran, Python) to analyse and interpret large numerical data sets. Developed stand-alone, publicly available libraries. Created the NICIL library which self-consistently computes ionisation fractions and non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic coefficients; it is designed for implementation in SPMHD or grid codes. Extended existing astrophysical codes to include new physics. Implemented the NICIL library into existing SPMHD codes (PHANTOM, SPHNG). Wrote and implemented several AGN feedback sub-grid models (HYDRA). Wrote and implemented an N-body solver to track stars created in shocks (ZEUS-3D). Wrote and implemented an external force routine to model AGN winds (ZEUS-3D). Modified existing astronomical codes for enhanced realism. Added physical checks to sink particle creation (PHANTOM). Modified existing astronomical codes for enhanced performance. Investigated the effect of various artificial resistivity algorithms (PHANTOM, SPHNG). Incorporated the Saito-Makino timestep limiter and particle waking into the individual timestep algorithm (PHANTOM). Incorporated super-timestepping to current timestepping algorithm (PHANTOM). Implemented boundary particles (PHANTOM). Modified output to be more relevant, more user-friendly, and less verbose (PHANTOM). Modified the star formation algorithm to obtain speed-ups of a few to a few dozen (HYDRA). Debuged large astronomical codes. Supervision Summary Nov. 2015 Ms. Madeline Marshall Jan. 2016 Third Year Summer Student (Monash University; co-supervised with Dr. Paul Lasky) Project Title: Simulating the largest explosions in the Universe: Equations of State in Neutron Star Mergers Nov. 2015 Jan. 2016 Mr. Bernard Field First Year Summer Student (Monash University; co-supervised with Dr. Paul Lasky) Project Title: Simulating the largest explosions in the Universe: Gravitational Wave Emission during Neutron Star Mergers 2015 Mr. David Liptai Honours Thesis (Monash University; co-supervised with Dr. Daniel Price) Project Title: Star Formation: Determining the Initial Mass Function Teaching Summary Oct. 2015 Lecturer: Stars and Galaxies (galaxy interactions and galaxy clusters modules; Monash University: ASP 3012) Jan. 2013 Apr. 2013 Jan. 2012 Dec. 2012 Instructor: University Physics laboratory sections (SMU: PHYS 1101) Instructor: Physics for Life Science laboratory sections (SMU: PHYS 1000/1001)
Sept. 2011 Apr. 2012 Apr. 2009 Apr. 2009 Jan. 2007 Dec. 2008 Sept. 2007 Apr. 2007 Sept. 2006 Dec. 2006 Teaching Assistant: University Physics laboratory section (SMU: PHYS 1100/1101) Teaching Assistant: University Physics laboratory section (SMU: PHYS 1100/1101) Teaching Assistant: University Physics help desk (SMU: PHYS 1100/1101) Teaching Assistant: Practical Engineering Modules laboratory section (Queen s University: APSC 100) Tutor: First year physics for physicists (Queen s University: PHYS 104) Teaching Assistant: Second year dynamics laboratory section (Queen s University: PHYS 206) Scholarships and Awards Dec. 2014 Awarded 600000CPU hours from the Australian National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme (NCMAS) Sept. 2011 Aug. 2012 Sept. 2011 Aug. 2012 Sept. 2009 Aug. 2011 Aug. 2010 Sept. 2007 Aug. 2008 Sept. 2006 Aug. 2007 Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Graduate Award (SMU) Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Fellowship (SMU) National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Canada Graduate Scholarship - Ph. D. Level Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Graduate Award (SMU) NSERC Post Graduate Scholarship - M. Sc. Level (Extension) NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship - M. Sc. Level Other activities Memberships 2013 2016 Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA; professional organization) 2013 2016 Australian National Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (ANITA; professional organization) 2008 2013 Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA; professional organization) Other activities Volunteer positions Jan. 2015 MoCA Public Talk Series: Co-coordinator March 2016 2014 MoCA Seminar Series: Coordinator Nov. 2013 Spring 2010 MoCA PhD Day: Organised and ran critical writing workshop CASCA 2010: Graduate student representative on SMU s local organising committee, and organised the Graduate Student Workshop 2010 International Year of Astronomy: Various positions at events (e.g. public talks, public observing) hosted by SMU August 2010 April 2008 June 2007 April 2007 References SMU s Burke-Gaffney Observatory: Periodically assisted the telescope operator at public tours Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington Science Fair: Judge CASCA 2007: Served on the Royal Military College s local organising committee Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington Science Fair: Judge
Available upon request July 16, 2018