Robert Ferdman

Dr. Robert Ferdman is an Associate Professor in Physics at the University of East Anglia (UEA), School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physics, and a member of the Quantum Matter research group. He joined UEA in 2016 after completing his doctorate at the University of British Columbia (Canada), followed by postdoctoral roles at the Observatoire de Paris (France) and Research Associate positions at the University of Manchester (UK) and McGill University (Canada). His research focuses on observational astrophysics, particularly pulsar studies for testing general relativity, detecting gravitational waves, and understanding compact binary systems.

Education: PhD in Physics from the University of British Columbia (2016). Key research includes precision timing of millisecond pulsars to probe gravitational theories, participation in collaborations like NANOGrav and EPTA for gravitational wave detection, and analysis of binary neutron star systems. He actively contributes to pulsar surveys (e.g., PALFA) and employs advanced techniques like machine learning for data analysis.

Research interests span gravitational wave astronomy, relativistic astrophysics, and neutron star evolution. Current efforts aim to detect nanohertz gravitational waves using Pulsar Timing Arrays and refine tests of Einstein’s theory in extreme conditions.

Advising and collaborations include mentoring students (e.g., H. T. Haniewicz and K. A. Bunting) and leading projects like the Timing recently discovered double neutron star systems (Royal Astronomical Society-funded, 2019). His work leverages international facilities such as the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank and the Arecibo Observatory.