James McCoy

ARC Research Associate
Mathematical Sciences Institute
Australian National University

Bachelor of Science (Honours)
PhD in mathematics

"What I like most about my job is the great research atmosphere."

In January 2002 I submitted my PhD thesis entitled 'The Surface Area Preserving Mean Curvature Flow.' My thesis used techniques from the mathematical areas of differential geometry and partial differential equations.

My current position at the Centre for Mathematics and its Applications, is currently research but I might do a small amount of teaching next semester. My main duty is to derive new results and publish these as articles in international mathematics journals. The main challenge is to get good quality results published in reasonable time so I can apply for another position in the future, such as that of an ARC Postdoctoral Fellow. I also attend and present at conferences regularly. Later this year I will go to Berlin and possibly China. I have also just assumed a very small administrative responsibility, namely editorship of the fortnightly institute email newsletter.

What I like most about my job is the great research atmosphere, there are many people around to discuss ideas with. I hope to develop collaborative relationships with other mathematicians in the future.

There were a couple of things I particularly enjoyed during my studies at Monash. The first was the company of other students studying related mathematical problems. I did not feel isolated in my research and we worked as a group on common theory that we all needed as part of our research. I had many useful discussions with other students and staff. This encouraged me to try further research as a career. The second thing I enjoyed was the opportunity to act as a sessional lecturer and tutor, when I was able to significantly develop my oral communication skills to large and small audiences. Such skills will be invaluable in the future, whether or not I remain in academia.