Dr Ian Stevens BSc, PhD, FRAS

School of Physics and Astronomy
Senior Lecturer

Contact details

Address
School of Physics and Astronomy
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Stevens works on a range of astrophysical topics, ranging from the most massive stars through to extrasolar planets, and at wavelengths ranging from very low-frequency radio emission through to X-ray and gamma-ray emission.

School webpage: www.sr.bham.ac.uk/~irs/

Qualifications

  • PhD in Astrophysics,  University of London (UCL), 1988
  • BSc Hons, Mathematics and Astronomy, University of London (UCL), 1985

Biography

Ian Stevens obtained his B.Sc  from University College London in 1985 and moved to the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UCL for his Ph.D (working with Prof. Allan Willis and Prof. Sir Robert Wilson) on theoretical modelling of the massive supersonic winds from high mass stars, particularly those in binary systems.

After his Ph.D  he moved to the USA to work at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre, located in Maryland, just outside of the Washington D.C. 

In 1990 he returned to the UK, to the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge and then moved to the University of Birmingham in the mid 1990's, initially as a postdoctoral fellow, then as a holder of a PPARC Advanced Fellowship holder and then onto a permanent academic appointment.

Teaching

  • Y1 Introduction tp Astrophysics
  • Y2 Astronomy Projects [in charge]
  • Y3 Planetary Astronomy and Extrasolar Planets

Postgraduate supervision

I have supervised many Ph.D students, a good number of whom have academic positions at various universities in the UK and abroad.

For details of potential Ph.D projects please see the Astrophysics and Space Research group webpage.

Research

 

 

 RESEARCH THEMES 

  • Extrasolar Planets
  • Massive Stars and their Stellar Winds
  • Stellar Variability

FACILITIES/TELESCOPES USED: CURRENT

  • NASA Kepler satellite
  • STEREO satellites 
  • Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI)
  • Giant Metrewave Radio Telecope (GMRT)
  • Chandra and XMM-Newton
  • E-MERLIN

FACILITIES/TELESCOPES: FUTURE

  • ALMA
  • MEERKAT
  • SKA

Other activities

Dr Stevens has held visiting positions at a number of institutions - NASA/GSFC, Uneristy of Liege, Belgium and the University of  La Plata, Argentina.

He has also served on a number of STFC grants panels and telescope time allocation committees.

Publications

Stevens, I R. et al., (1992),  Colliding winds from early-type stars in binary systems, Astrophsyical Journal, 386, 265

Strickland, D. K.. Stevens, I.R. (2000), Starburst-driven galactic winds - I. Energetics and intrinsic X-ray emission, MNRAS, 314, 511

Stevens, I. R., (2005), Magnetospheric radio emission from extrasolar giant planets: the role of the host stars, MNRAS, 356, 1053

Spreckley, S. A.; Stevens, I. R. (2008), The period and amplitude changes of Polaris (α UMi) from 2003 to 2007 measured with SMEI, MNRAS, 388, 1239

View all publications in research portal