Dr Scott Melville

Profile

I'm a theoretical physicist, working on uncovering the fundamental laws that describe our Universe.

I study how to translate the measurements we make on large scales / low energies into new information about
small-scale / high-energy physics. I am particularly interested in using 
 (i) inflation in the early Universe, 
 (ii) dark energy in the late Universe, and 
 (iii) gravitational waves from black holes,
as laboratories for testing our current physical theories and looking for signs of new physics.

I am currently a Lecturer of Cosmology, a position I started in 2023, and a UKRI Stephen Hawking Fellow. 
Before this, I was a Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge (2018-2023).
I completed my PhD in 2018 at Imperial College London.

Teaching

Lecturer / Module Organiser for:

SPA6403 - Statistical Physics [3rd year of BSc/MSci]

Module Assistant for:

SPA7028U/P - Advanced Cosmology [MSc/MSci]

SPA7036 - Radiative Transfer and Astrochemistry [MSc/MSci]

Research

Research Interests:

My research explores the interface between particle physics and cosmology where I develop theoretical tools 
to search for new fundamental physics. 

I apply effective field theory techniques to models which go beyond the current paradigm 
(beyond the Standard Model / General Relativity) and exploit the latest data 
(from colliders, sky surveys and gravitational wave observatories) in order to tackle open 
problems such as the true nature of dark energy in the late Universe, of inflation in the early Universe, 
and of particle interactions and gravity at high energies.

Publications

An up-to-date list of my publications can be found on HEP-Inspire:
https://inspirehep.net/literature?q=exactauthor%3As.melville.1