Luke Heaton
I am a theoretical biologist, with a particular interest in morphogenesis, and I am currently studying for a DPhil through the Life Science Interface DTC at the University of Oxford. I am currently developing models to aid our understanding of how fungi translocate nutrients, and to explore the developmental logic of fungal networks. More generally I am interested in elucidating the ways that physical mechanisms and the constraints of metabolism literally shape biological form.
My background is somewhat varied, as I have studied mathematics, architecture and sculpture. I am also interested in philosophy, particularly the works of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Blaise Pascal. I have a 1st class honours degree in mathematics from the University of Edinburgh, an MSc in mathematics and the logical foundations of computer science (with distinction) from the University of Oxford, and a 2:1 in Architecture from the University of Westminster.
Over the last seven years I have been working on a popular science book entitled "Simplicity and Truth: Thinking Through the History of Maths." My aim is to explain how mathematics has shaped our thinking over the millennia, and I present the subject as a history of ideas, rather than a collection of techniques. In particular, I describe the major cognitive shifts in the history of mathematics, such as the rise of algebra, and the conceptual origins of computation.
As well as describing a range of mathematical arguments (from the Euclidean Algorithm to Godel's theorems), I also take a step back, and discuss the nature of mathematical activity in a Wittgensteinian fashion. I recently finished editing this 78,000 word book, and I am currently looking for a publisher.
Supervisors: Nick Jones, Eduardo Lopez, Mark Fricker, and Philip Maini
My background is somewhat varied, as I have studied mathematics, architecture and sculpture. I am also interested in philosophy, particularly the works of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Blaise Pascal. I have a 1st class honours degree in mathematics from the University of Edinburgh, an MSc in mathematics and the logical foundations of computer science (with distinction) from the University of Oxford, and a 2:1 in Architecture from the University of Westminster.
Over the last seven years I have been working on a popular science book entitled "Simplicity and Truth: Thinking Through the History of Maths." My aim is to explain how mathematics has shaped our thinking over the millennia, and I present the subject as a history of ideas, rather than a collection of techniques. In particular, I describe the major cognitive shifts in the history of mathematics, such as the rise of algebra, and the conceptual origins of computation.
As well as describing a range of mathematical arguments (from the Euclidean Algorithm to Godel's theorems), I also take a step back, and discuss the nature of mathematical activity in a Wittgensteinian fashion. I recently finished editing this 78,000 word book, and I am currently looking for a publisher.
Supervisors: Nick Jones, Eduardo Lopez, Mark Fricker, and Philip Maini
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mycophagous animals. Development of contrast-independent network extraction algorithms has dramatically improved our ability to characterise these dynamic macroscopic networks and promises to bridge the gap between experiments in realistic experimental microcosms and graph-theoretic network analysis, greatly facilitating quantitative description of their complex behaviour. Furthermore, using digitised networks as inputs,
empirically-based minimal biophysical mass-flow models already provide a high degree of explanation for patterns of long-distance radiolabel movement, and hint at global control mechanisms emerging naturally as a consequence of the intrinsic hydraulic connectivity. Network resilience is also critical to survival and can be explored both in silico by removing links in the digitised networks according to particular rules, or in vivo by allowing different mycophagous invertebrates to graze on the networks. Survival depends on both the intrinsic architecture adopted by each species and the ability to reconnect following damage. It is hoped that a comparative approach may yield useful insights into not just fungal ecology, but also biologically inspired rules governing the combinatorial trade-off between cost, transport efficiency, resilience and control complexity for self-organised adaptive networks in other domains.
mycophagous animals. Development of contrast-independent network extraction algorithms has dramatically improved our ability to characterise these dynamic macroscopic networks and promises to bridge the gap between experiments in realistic experimental microcosms and graph-theoretic network analysis, greatly facilitating quantitative description of their complex behaviour. Furthermore, using digitised networks as inputs,
empirically-based minimal biophysical mass-flow models already provide a high degree of explanation for patterns of long-distance radiolabel movement, and hint at global control mechanisms emerging naturally as a consequence of the intrinsic hydraulic connectivity. Network resilience is also critical to survival and can be explored both in silico by removing links in the digitised networks according to particular rules, or in vivo by allowing different mycophagous invertebrates to graze on the networks. Survival depends on both the intrinsic architecture adopted by each species and the ability to reconnect following damage. It is hoped that a comparative approach may yield useful insights into not just fungal ecology, but also biologically inspired rules governing the combinatorial trade-off between cost, transport efficiency, resilience and control complexity for self-organised adaptive networks in other domains.