Research Statement

My research focuses on mean Hadamard inequalities and constrained variational problems motivated by topics in nonlinear elasticity.

Research Areas

Calculus of Variations

Existence and explicit construction of minimisers to variational problems.

Functional Analysis

Bounds for optimal constants in functional inequalities.

Nonlinear Elasticity

Integral functionals with polyconvex integrands and partial differential inclusions.

Current Projects

Conditions for the Non-Negativity of Excess Functionals in Constrained Variational Problems

Construction of explciit examples of mean Hadamard inequalities and minimisers of the Dirichlet energy in a Jacobian constrained class.

A Lower Bound for the Dirichlet Energy in a Class of Jacobian Constrained Maps

Establishing lower bounds for the Dirichlet energy functional subject to a Jacobian contraint and Dirichlet boundary conditions.

Research Impact

My research has developed new techiques for constructing explicit minimisers for functionals of a polyconvex integrand and Jacobian constrained variational problems. In doing so, I have been able to make progress on an open problem in elasticity and construct novel bounds for several inequalities in functional and harmonic analysis.