Nigel Geoffrey Stocks (born 6 September 1964) is an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, notable for discovering suprathreshold stochastic resonance (SSR) and its application to

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted Neuroprosthetics, neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for imp ...

technology.

Education

He attended Bingley Grammar School before received a BSc in Applied Physics and Electronics (1987) and a PhD in (1991), under

Peter V. E. McClintock Peter Vaughan Elsmere McClintock (born 17 October 1940) is a physicist notable for his scientific work on superfluids and stochastic nonlinear dynamics.IEEE Trans. Circ. & Sys.—II, Vol. 46, No. 9, pp. 1214, 1999. Education He received the B. ...

, at

Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

, UK, with a dissertation entitled ''Experiments in Stochastic Nonlinear Dynamics.''

Career

His early research work was undertaken in the Lancaster Nonlinear Group and focused on the development of the theory of nonequilibrium

dynamical system In mathematics, a dynamical system is a system in which a Function (mathematics), function describes the time dependence of a Point (geometry), point in an ambient space, such as in a parametric curve. Examples include the mathematical models ...

s and, in particular, on

stochastic resonance Stochastic resonance (SR) is a behavior of non-linear systems where random (stochastic) fluctuations in the micro state cause deterministic changes in the macro state. This occurs when the non-linear nature of the system amplifies certain (reso ...

. Stocks moved to the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

in 1993 where he joined the Fluid Dynamics Research Centre and undertook studies on transition to turbulence. In 1996 he was awarded a TMR EU Fellowship and worked with Riccardo Mannella at Pisa University before subsequently returning to Warwick as a University of Warwick Research Fellow. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2002, Reader in 2005, and full Professor in 2007. Stocks' research interests are in the general area of stochastic

nonlinear systems In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system (or a non-linear system) is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathem ...

and

biomimetics Biomimetics or biomimicry is the emulation of the models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems. The terms "biomimetics" and "biomimicry" are derived from (''bios''), life, and μίμησις (''mimes ...

. In particular, his research has focused on

neural coding Neural coding (or neural representation) is a neuroscience field concerned with characterising the hypothetical relationship between the Stimulus (physiology), stimulus and the neuronal responses, and the relationship among the Electrophysiology, e ...

mechanisms for

s and the development of biomimetic signal processing techniques. In 2012 he was appointed Head of the School of Engineering at the University of Warwick—one of the UK's largest integrated Schools of Engineering.

Selected publication

* Mark D. McDonnell, Nigel G. Stocks, Charles E. M. Pearce, and

Derek Abbott Derek Abbott (born 1960) is a British-Australian physicist and electronic engineer, and professor at the University of Adelaide. He is known for claiming to have identified the "Somerton Man", whose body had been found decades earlier on an A ...

, ''

Stochastic Resonance Stochastic resonance (SR) is a behavior of non-linear systems where random (stochastic) fluctuations in the micro state cause deterministic changes in the macro state. This occurs when the non-linear nature of the system amplifies certain (reso ...

'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 2008, .

References

External links

Stocks' homepage

Stocks' math genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stocks, Nigel G. 1964 births Living people Engineers from Bradford Alumni of Lancaster University English physicists People from Warwick Academics of the University of Warwick Probability theorists

Education

Career

Selected publication

See also

References

External links