Andrew Lane has a cross disciplinary background, with previous study incorporating aspects of theoretical physics, applied mathematics, and the philosophy of science. He has a broad interest in exploring the respective roles of theoretical modelling and the scientific method in the process of acquiring knowledge.

Since joining the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to Non-Equilibrium Systems (CANES) at King's in 2015, Andrew has focused on the opportunities which simulation modelling creates for scientific investigation. He is a keen programmer, and enjoys his role as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Geography Department in which he helps to teach undergraduates the foundations of computational problem solving.

Research

Thesis title: 'An Agent Based Modelling approach to the socio-ecological dynamics of land cover change during the first millennia of agriculture in Iberia'

The research which Andrew is conducting as part of his PhD is motivated by the need to understand how social drivers of land cover change interact with natural ecological processes in the context of a changing climate. These coupled human and natural factors give rise to emergent phenomena, such as local wildfire regimes, which cannot be predicted by studying each factor in isolation. Such emergent dynamics are hallmarks of a complex system.

Andrew has developed a socio-ecological simulation model, based on previous research in the fields of landscape ecology and archaeology, to represent the causal processes which affect land cover change. By comparing the outputs of various configurations of this model to empirical data within a Bayesian framework, he aims learn about the general trends which explain how ecological systems respond to human interventions.

PhD Supervisors

• Principal supervisor:  James Millington
• Secondary supervisor:  Simon Miles

Further details

Please see Andrew's Research Profile for further details.