In general I am inspired by the scientific endeavour, and the beauty and depth of the questions about the fundamental structure and mechanisms of nature. On my everyday work though, what keeps me going are those fleeting moments when you finally understand how to perform some little step in a computation, or the physics behind some mathematical expression.
Dr Teresa Bautista
31 March 2022
Dr Teresa Bautista awarded Silver at STEM for Britain 2022
Teresa was awarded the silver medal for her presentation on “Mathematical microscopy into our expanding universe” at Parliament’s annual poster competition.
Held in Parliament since 1997, the STEM for Britain competition focuses on providing insight into ground-breaking research work conducted by outstanding early-career researchers in universities across the UK.
Teresa’s research focuses on developing a mathematical formula which can tell us about the quantum nature of our expanding universe. This formula seeks to generate an ‘image’ through which information about fundamental details of the sphere that constitutes the edge of our observable universe, known as the ‘cosmological horizon’, can be deciphered.
Her work aims to expand upon knowledge of the nature of dark energy – the mysterious source of energy driving the expansion of the universe. Commenting on what inspires her research, Teresa said:
On winning the award, Teresa further elaborated:
Explaining fundamental research to the general public is both very important and difficult, so it is incredibly motivating to be rewarded for it. I deeply share the values and message of the STEM for Britain competition. It is crucial that society, and especially those who have the power to make impactful decisions, are in constant communication with researchers and up to date with the latest scientific advances. The effort that goes into making high-level science accessible to the general public needs to be recognised and promoted. I was very pleased to be able to contribute to this event by presenting my own scientific findings in Parliament.
Dr Teresa Bautista
Teresa’s research was done in collaboration with the Department of Mathematics' Theoretical Physics group, including Dr Dionysios Anninos. The research was also conducted with A. Dabholkar from The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Triste, Italy, H. Erbin from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, M. Kudrna from the Czech Academy of Sciences, and B. Mühlmann from McGill University.
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Research Associate
Senior Research Fellow in Theoretical Physics