Faculty of Science and Information Technology

Dr Ian Benn

• B.Sc. (1st class honours) in Mathematical Physics, Edinburgh University, June 1978
• Ph.D. Lancaster University 1981
  "Complex quaternionic formulation of Sl(2,C) gauge theories of gravitation."

• Differential geometry and mathematical physics.
  Recently I have been interested in geometrical structures on manifolds that underlie symmetries of many of the important equations of mathematical physics (such as the Maxwell and Dirac equations). Manifolds admitting various tensor generalisations of Killing vectors have many remarkable properties. Such manifolds can also be related to the potentials of natural mechanical systems admitting polynomial constants of the motion. One goal is to better understand the geometry underlying these integrable and superintegrable systems.

• Mathematical Modelling and Physical Systems

• I usually offer a fourth year course on General Relativity

• J. Kress, PhD 1997.
• P.R. Charlton PhD 1997

• Jan 1992 - Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Newcastle, NSW
• Aug 1989 - Jan 1992 Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Newcastle, NSW
• Feb 1987 - July 1989 Lecturer in Physics, University College of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia. (In January 1989 the University College became part of the new Northern Territory University.)
• Oct 1984 - Sep 1986 Research Associate, Department of Physics, Lancaster University, U.K.
• Oct 1983 Sep 1984 Research Fellow, Department of Natural Philosophy, Glasgow University, U.K.
• Oct 1981 - Sep 1983 Research Associate, Department of Physics, Lancaster University, U.K.