Ian Hewitt

At Trinity, I give tutorials in most of the applied mathematics modules in the first two years of the Mathematics degree. That includes Introductory Calculus, Geometry, Dynamics, Partial Differential Equations, Complex Analysis, Fluid Dynamics, and Mathematical Modelling in Biology. I continue to advise students in their third and fourth years, when the majority of specialist teaching is transferred to the Department. I give lectures for some of those third- and fourth-year courses, currently teaching courses in Applied Complex Variables and Mathematical Geoscience. I also lead a small research group comprising postdocs, DPhil students and Masters students.

My research involves developing and solving mathematical models to help understand problems in Earth Science, Physics and Engineering. I work together with graduate students and postdocs in the Mathematical Institute, as well as collaborating with researchers in other disciplines both in Oxford and elsewhere.

I have a particular interest in the behaviour of ice sheets, investigating both how they are currently melting, but also how they have grown and shrunk in the past – understanding this is important for forecasting and interpreting the current rapid climate change. The mathematics typically involves systems of differential equations, which we use numerical and asymptotic methods to solve – the problems often use aspects of fluid and solid mechanics as well as thermodynamics.

Another interest is in volcanology – exploring how magma is sourced and transported from inside the Earth into volcanoes. I have recently been working on how this may occur differently on other moons and exo-planets (i.e. those outside the solar system), where it may – ultimately – have something to say about extra-terrestrial life.

I also work on engineering and industrial aspects of fluid dynamics, including non-Newtonian flows, porous media flows, fluid-structure interaction, and elasto-capillarity.

You can find out more about my work here.

I. J. Hewitt, ‘Subglacial Plumes’, Annual Reviews of Fluid Mechanics. 52 (2020),145-169 [doi:10.1146/annurev-fluid-010719-060252]

D. C. Spencer, R. F. Katz, I. J. Hewitt, ‘Magmatic intrusions control Io's crustal thickness’, J. Geophys. Res. (2020) doi:10.1029/2020JE006443

E. A. Wilson, A. J. Wells, I. J. Hewitt & C. Cenedese, ‘The dynamics of a subglacial salt wedge’, Journal of Fluid Mechanics 895 (2020) [doi:10.1017/jfm.2020.308]

I. J. Hewitt, T. T. Creyts, ‘A model for the formation of eskers,’ Geophys. Res. Lett. (2019) 46, [doi:10.1029/2019GL082304]

D. I. Benn, A. C. Fowler, I. J. Hewitt, and H. Sevestre, ‘A general theory of glacier surges’, J. Glaciol. (2019) [doi:10.1017/jog.2019.62]

A. T. Bradley, F. Box, I. J. Hewitt, D. Vella, ‘Wettability-Independent Droplet Transport by Bendotaxis’, Phys. Rev. Lett. (2019) 122, 074503[doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.074503]