Dominic came to Oxford as an undergraduate in 1986 and never left. He did his BA and DPhil at Merton, was a Junior Research Fellow at Christ Church, and a University Lecturer and Tutorial Fellow at Lincoln College, before moving to a professorial position in the Mathematical Institute in 2006. In 2025 he became the Savilian Professor of Geometry, and migrated to New College, where the responsibilities of his position include attending special dinners.

Research Interests

Dominic works in several areas of Geometry: Differential Geometry, Algebraic Geometry, and Symplectic Geometry. These are the study of higher-dimensional curved spaces with geometric structures (dimensions 4, 6, 7 and 8 are Dominic’s personal favourites). Dominic’s work is closely connected with String Theory in Theoretical Physics, since String Theorists believe that the dimension of the universe is not 4 (3 space + 1 time) but 10, 11, or 12 (or 26, but don’t ask about that one). The extra 6, 7 or 8 dimensions are ‘rolled up small’ into one of the spaces that Dominic studies. He talks to String Theorists a lot, but usually does not understand the answers.

Teaching

Dominic gives undergraduate and graduate lectures in the Mathematical Institute, and has supervised more than 20 DPhil students and more than 20 postdoctoral researchers. He welcomes enquiries from potential new DPhil students.

Further details, along with publications, can be found on his departmental webpage.