Personal profile
Summary
I am an Associate Professor (Reader) in Applied Mathematics and the Associate Head for Research and Innovation in the School of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Portsmouth in the UK. I am also an Associate Member of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation. My main research interests are in nonlinear dynamics.
Biography
I completed my PhD at the University of Loughborough, after which I went on to work at Hewlett-Packard's research laboratories in Bristol before taking up Postdoctoral research positions in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS) at the University of Cambridge and later in the School of Mathematics at the University of Bristol where I gained a permanent post as Scientific Programmer.
I gave a course of lectures in Part III of the University of Cambridge Mathematics Tripos (Applied) on renormalisation in Dynamical Systems.
I joined the Department of Mathematics at the University of Portsmouth in 2005, and am now a member of the Applied Mathematics Group, becoming Principal Lecturer in 2012, Associate Head for Research and Innovation in 2019, and Associate Professor (Reader) in Applied Mathematics in 2023.
I have been involved in several successful projects on the interface between science and public understanding, including the Mathematics Posters on the London Underground project in 2000, with the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge, and the Dynamics of Spin exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London in 2007 and at Techfest (Asia's largest Science and Technology festival) held in Mumbai in 2008. I also co-founded and chaired the Portsmouth Cafe Scientifique.
Roles
- Associate Professor (Reader) in Applied Mathematics (2023-date)
- Associate Head of School (Research and Innovation) (2019-date)
- REF Unit of Assessment Coordinator, UoA10 Mathematics (2012-date)
- Isaac Newton Institute, Cambridge, Correspondent (2006-date).
- International Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Edinburgh, Correspondent (2018-date)
- London Mathematical Society, Library Committee (2026-date)
- Associate Member, Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (2005-date)
- Departmental Director of Postgraduate Research (2011-2012, 2021-2023)
- Principal Lecturer in Mathematics (2012-2023)
- Research Coordinator, Department of Mathematics (2011-2019)
- Co-founder & Chair, Café Scientifique Portsmouth (2006-2016)
- Department Web Manager & Publicity Officer (2005-2016)
- Induction Coordinator, Mathematics, University of Portsmouth (2009-2011)
- Annual Festival of Maths & Art Team (2005-2010)
Professional Memberships
- 2026-date European Mathematical Society (EMS)
- 2025-date British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)
- 1998-date London Mathematical Society (LMS)
- 2001-date Free Software Foundation
- 2000-2003 SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics)
- 1993-2000 Graduate Member of the IMA (Winner: Loughborough IMA Prize 1993)
Recent Career History
- 2005-date School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Portsmouth, UK
2023-date Associate Professor (Reader) in Applied Mathematics
2019-date Associate Head (Research and Innovation)
2012-2023 Principal Lecturer
2005-2012 Senior Lecturer - 2001-2005 School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, UK.
Scientific Programmer (Permanent Post)
Postdoctoral Fellow - 1998-2001 Statistical Laboratory, Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS), University of Cambridge, UK
Lectured Mathematical Tripos Part III (Applied)
Postdoctoral Research Associate - 1997-1998 Basic Research Institute in the Mathematical Sciences (BRIMS), Hewlett-Packard Laboratories Europe, Bristol, UK
Postdoctoral Fellow - 1995 (Sep-Oct) Santa Fe Institute, New Mexico, USA
Visiting Fellow - 1990-1997 Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Loughborough, UK
1993-1997 PhD, Mathematics, Renormalisation for Siegel Discs
1990-1993 BSc, Mathematics and Computation
Research Interests
1. Universality and Renormalisation in Dynamical Systems, Computer-Assisted Proofs in Banach Spaces.
2. Applied Nonlinear Dynamics including Mathematical Oncology (via ODE and DDE models).
3. Nonlinear dynamics in systems of coupled units; localisation, ratchets, collective phenomena, transport in phase space.
In my PhD, I worked under the supervision of Andrew Osbaldestin (Loughborough) and in collaboration with Andreas Stirnemann (Exeter, Edinburgh). I used computer-assisted techniques to explain the universality observed in the breakup of quasiperiodicity (conjugacy to rigid rotation) on the boundary of Siegel discs in complex maps - a prototypical KAM-type scenario. For golden mean rotation number, I used bounds on the fixed point of the corresponding (Fibonacci-type) renormalisation operator to verify the necklace hypotheses of Stirnemann and thereby to give a rigorous proof of conjectures of Widom explaining the universality observed by Manton and Nauenberg.
While at the University of Cambridge I worked with Colin Sparrow (Cambridge), Jeremy Gunawardena (BRIMS, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories) and Roger Nussbaum (Rutgers) on the dynamics of nonexpansive maps, with applications to discrete event systems.
At the University of Bristol I worked with Stephen Wiggins and Holger Waalkens (Bristol), David Farrelly (Utah State), and others, on transport phenomena in Hamiltonian systems, with applications to problems in Physics, Chemistry, and Celestial Mechanics.
More recently, I have continued my work on renormalisation in dynamical systems (with a focus on coupled systems) and have worked with Marianna Cerasuolo (Portsmouth) on mathematical models of prostate cancer.
Education/Academic qualification
Ph.D., Renormalisation for Siegel Discs (Applied Mathematics), Loughborough University
1 Sept 1993 → 1 Sept 1997
Award Date: 1 Jul 1997
BSc (Hons), Mathematics and Computation, Loughborough University
1 Sept 1990 → 1 Sept 1993
Award Date: 1 Jul 1993
External positions
Scientific Programmer (Permanent Post), Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Mathematics, University of Bristol
1 Sept 2001 → 1 Sept 2005
Lectured Mathematical Tripos Part III (Applied), Postdoctoral Research Associate, Statistical Laboratory, Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS), University of Cambridge, UK
1 Sept 1998 → 1 Sept 2001
Postdoctoral Fellow, Basic Research Institute in the Mathematical Sciences (BRIMS), Hewlett-Packard Laboratories Europe, Bristol, UK
1 Sept 1997 → 1 Sept 1998
Visiting Fellow, Santa Fe Institute
1 Sept 1995 → 1 Oct 1995
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Quantum backflow current in a ring: Optimal bounds and fractality
Goussev, A., Quinque, F., Joo, J. & Burbanks, A., 12 Aug 2024, In: Physical Review A. 110, 2, 11 p., 022216.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile100 Downloads (Pure) -
A hybrid spatiotemporal model of PCa dynamics and insights into optimal therapeutic strategies
Burbanks, A., Cerasuolo, M., Ronca, R. & Turner, L., 1 Jan 2023, In: Mathematical Biosciences. 355, 17 p., 108940.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile82 Downloads (Pure) -
Existence of the FS-type renormalisation fixed point for unidirectionally-coupled pairs of maps
Burbanks, A. D. & Osbaldestin, A. H., 20 Apr 2023, In: Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical. 56, 17 p., 195202.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile84 Downloads (Pure) -
Mathematical insights into neuroendocrine transdifferentiation of human prostate cancer cells
Turner, L., Burbanks, A. & Cerasuolo, M., 1 Sept 2021, In: Nonlinear Analysis: Modelling and Control. 26, 5, p. 884-913 30 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile96 Downloads (Pure) -
PCa dynamics with neuroendocrine differentiation and distributed delay
Turner, L., Burbanks, A. & Cerasuolo, M., 8 Oct 2021, In: Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering. 18, 6, p. 8577-8602 26 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile106 Downloads (Pure)
Thesis
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File
Datasets
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andrewburbanks/existence-fs: Existence of the FS-type renormalisation fixed point [Software]
Burbanks, A. (Creator), Zenodo, 3 Oct 2022
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7139006, https://zenodo.org/record/7139006
Dataset
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Code to reproduce the results of the paper "A hybrid spatiotemporal model of PCa dynamics and insights into optimal therapeutic strategies"
Burbanks, A. (Creator), Cerasuolo, M. (Creator) & Turner, L. (Creator), Zenodo, 7 Sept 2022
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7090867, https://zenodo.org/record/7090867
Dataset
Activities
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Validated numerics for computer-assisted proofs
Burbanks, A. (Organiser), Mestel, B. D. (Organiser), Pollicott, M. (Organiser) & Slipantschuk, J. (Organiser)
6 Jul 2026 → 10 Jul 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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UKRI EPSRC Mathematical Sciences Small Grants Panel July 2026 - Panel Member, Peer Reviewer
Burbanks, A. (Member)
Jul 2026Activity: Grant Peer-Review › Grant Peer-Reviewer (External)
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Faculty of Technology Research and Innovation Conference
Burbanks, A. (Chair)
12 Jun 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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Doing Mathematics in the Archive – A Joint BSHM Meeting with the INI
Burbanks, A. (Participant)
16 May 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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LMS-IMA David Crighton Award Lecture and Medal Presentation 2026
Burbanks, A. (Participant)
13 May 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course