Simon Harris

Biography

Simon Harris is a professor belongs to the department of Mathematical Sciences from the university of Bath.

Research Interest

As a member of the Probability Laboratory at Bath (ProbL@b), my main research interests lie in probability theory. I have a broad interest throughout this field, including modelling and applications of stochastic processes. My research has tended to concentrate on problems in branching Brownian motion models, branching processes, fragmentation & coalescent processes. Recent collaborations have regularly taken me to Paris where I also spent a very productive and enjoyable sabbatical in 2012. For example, branching diffusions can roughly be thought of as models for populations of 'animals' which breed, die and move around in space. This area often involves the inter-play of probability with mathematical analysis through links with non-linear partial differential equations. Related models have been applied to diverse problems from chemical and physical reactions, to population genetics and geology. My research has often included the use of martingale theory, change of measure techniques and large-deviations to make intuitive ideas and heuristic arguments about the behaviour of models into rigorous, and ideally elegant, mathematics. In particular, I am at the forefront of developing various 'spine' techniques in branching processes which identify and manipulate certain distinguished particles/lines of descent within the population.