David Wands is Professor of

Cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosophe ...

at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, in the

University of Portsmouth The University of Portsmouth is a public university in Portsmouth, England. It is one of only four universities in the South East England, South East of England rated as Gold in the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework. With approximately 28 ...

. He was educated at

Dr Challoner's Grammar School Dr Challoner's Grammar School (also known as DCGS, Challoner's Boys or simply Challoner's) is a selective grammar school for boys, with a co-educational Sixth Form, in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England. It was given academy status in January ...

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. ...

, and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of ...

, where he read Natural Sciences (Physical) and Mathematics. He received his PhD from the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

in 1994, supervised by Prof. John D. Barrow in the Astronomy Centre. Wands has published numerous research papers on

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosophe ...

, the physics of the

early universe The chronology of the universe describes the history and future of the universe according to Big Bang cosmology. Research published in 2015 estimates the earliest stages of the universe's existence as taking place 13.8 billion years ago, with ...

and the origin of cosmic structure. Wands' research involves investigation of primordial fluctuations in the density and metric of spacetime. He proposed the

curvaton The curvaton is a hypothetical elementary particle which mediates a scalar field in early universe cosmology. It can generate fluctuations during inflation, but does not itself drive inflation, instead it generates curvature perturbations at late ...

model for the origin of cosmic structure, with

David H. Lyth Professor David Lyth (21 June 1940) is a researcher in particle cosmology at the University of Lancaster. He has published over 165 papers as well as two books on early universe cosmology and cosmological inflation. Research He is noted for his ...

in 2001.

External links

Home PageICG PortsmouthResearch Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wands, David British cosmologists Academics of the University of Portsmouth Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century British physicists Alumni of the University of Sussex