Professor Elizabeth Winstanley

School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Professor of Mathematical Physics

Elizabeth Winstanley
Profile picture of Elizabeth Winstanley
e.winstanley@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 3796

Full contact details

Professor Elizabeth Winstanley
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Hicks Building
Hounsfield Road
Sheffield
S3 7RH
Profile

I was born in Wigan, Lancashire and educated at Abbey Gate College, near Chester. I completed my MA in Mathematics and DPhil in Theoretical Physics at St. Hugh's College, Oxford.  Prior to moving to Sheffield in 2000, I was Fellow and Lecturer in Applied Mathematics at Oriel College, Oxford. 

Research interests

Black holes, quantum field theory in curved space-time, general relativity

Summary of Research Project(s)

My current research focusses on semiclassical gravity, particularly (but not exclusively) as applied to black hole spacetimes. I am interested in the definition of quantum states on black hole space-times for a variety of quantum fields, and the computation of the renormalized stress-energy tensor for these states. My recent research also studies the backreaction of quantum fields on the space-time geometry, for both black holes and anti-de Sitter backgrounds. 

Publications

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Research group

Cosmology, Relativity and Gravitation

Grants

Past grants, as Principal Investigator

 
Higher dimensional scalar hairy black holesNuffield

Past grants, as Coinvestigator

 
STFC Consortium: Fundamental Physics - Lancaster-Manchester-SheffieldSTFC
STFC Consolidated Grant RenewalSTFC
Particle Physics: From the Early Universe to the Large Hadron ColliderSTFC
Testing New Physics with Data from Particle Physics and CosmologyPPARC

Prizes and Awards

Erskine Visiting Fellow at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand (2016); Australian Institute of Physics Women in Physics Lecturer (2010)

Teaching interests

My main teaching interests are:

  • Differential equations
  • Mathematical physics
  • Career development skills
  • Teaching mathematics to engineering students
  • Supervising MMath projects
Teaching activities

Over the course of my career, I have been involving in teaching a wide range of applied mathematics and theoretical physics modules, as well as mathematical methods to physicists and engineers and skills modules for mathematics students. I have also been a member of the London Mathematical Society's education committee, and the Joint Mathematical Council of the United Kingdom. 

Professional activities and memberships

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy; Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications; Fellow of the Institute of Physics; Member of the International Society for General Relativity and Gravitation, the London Mathematical Society, the European Mathematical Society and the European Physical Society.