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I am a theoretical physicist and philosopher working on physical and philosophical aspects of spacetime theory, quantum mechanics and cosmology. I am currently a Lecturer at the University College Groningen and a PhD candidate at the Philosophy Faculty in the University of Groningen.

To find out more about me, visit the About page. For a brief description of my research and links to papers, see Research. For links to course websites and info for students, see Teaching. For links to other useful websites I’ve created and articles/videos about me and my work, click External.

For links to my papers see my profiles on Google Scholar (physics and philosophy), arXiv (mostly physics), INSPIRE (mostly physics), phil-sci (mostly philosophy).

I am happy to chat with students, researchers, and anyone who is keenly motivated by the inner workings of our Universe. To email me, go to Contact.

Research Interests

I am interested in the most fundamental of questions about the nature and origin of the Universe. Of these, I find those related to our knowledge of the properties of things in space and time to be most compelling because they are central to our understanding of some of the biggest open questions in physics. Particularly puzzling is how  two of our most revolutionary theories of physics — Einstein’s theory of General Relativity and Quantum Theory — can coexist in one simple framework that one might call Quantum Gravity. This hundred-year-old problem has proved to be particularly challenging, and may involve a complete rethinking of the nature of reality.

In my research, I have focused on two important aspects of quantum gravity: the role of time, as expressed by the Problem of Time, and the role of scale, using a theory called Shape Dynamics. I am continuing to develop these ideas while thinking more generally about epistemic issues in cosmology as part of my current PhD dissertation at the University of Groningen.