Dr Guy R Davies MSci, PGCHE, PhD

School of Physics and Astronomy
Associate Professor in Astrophysics

Contact details

Email: g.r.davies@bham.ac.uk

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

Research Leader in Bayesian Inference & AI for Astrophysics | Associate Professor, University of Birmingham | PLATO, Stellar Populations, Probabilistic Modelling.

Qualifications

PhD in Astrophysics, University of Birmingham, 2011
MSci in Physics and Astrophysics, University of Birmingham, 2007

Biography

Professor Davies is an Associate Professor at the University of Birmingham and Principal Investigator of the European Research Council grant CartographY, where he leads research at the intersection of Bayesian inference, artificial intelligence, and large-scale data science.

Guy's work focuses on building scalable probabilistic models, neural emulators, and uncertainty-aware machine learning systems for complex, data-intensive problems. While his primary domain is astrophysics, the methodologies he develops — hierarchical Bayesian modelling, probabilistic programming, simulation-based inference, and scientific machine learning — translate directly to challenges in industrial data science, AI-driven decision-making, and high-dimensional statistical inference. Guy designs and deploys production-grade inference pipelines using modern computational tools (JAX, NumPyro, PyTorch, GPU-accelerated HPC), enabling fast, robust parameter estimation and predictive modelling at scale.

Professor Davies' research emphasises principled uncertainty quantification, interpretability, and model reliability — critical for high-stakes applications. He is deeply involved in the European Space Agency’s PLATO mission, leading projects that analyse large observational datasets and develop next-generation modelling frameworks.

Alongside research, he teaches Bayesian inference and machine learning for scientists, supervises PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, and works closely with international collaborators across academia and industry. Guy is keen to collaborate on problems involving probabilistic modelling, uncertainty-aware AI, large-scale inference, and complex data analysis.

Research

Research themes

Scientific programming on the GPU
Stellar rotation
Solar and stellar activity cycles
Kepler and COROT Asteroseismology
Solar and stellar gravity modes
Stellar modes of mixed character
Low-frequency solar oscillations
Ground based telescope networks (BiSON)
Resonant scattering spectrometers.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Scutt, OJ, Davies, GR, Stokholm, A, Lyttle, AJ, Nielsen, MB, Hatt, E, Li, T, Lund, MN & Bedding, TR 2026, 'Asteroseismology of solar-like oscillators: emulating individual mode frequencies with a branching neural network', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 546, no. 4, stag018. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag018

Freckelton, AV, Mortier, A, Bedell, M, Cretignier, M, Kolecki, JR, Korn, AJ, Sousa, SG, Tsantaki, M, Brewer, JM, Buchhave, LA, Davies, GR, Hernández, JIG, Morrell, S, Nielsen, MB, Passegger, VM, Quirrenbach, A, Roy, A, Santos, NC, Mascareño, AS, Watson, CA & Zhao, LL 2026, 'gr8stars II: judgement day for spectroscopic parameter model systematics', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag1070

Groves, L, Davies, G, Oliver, C, Allen, D, Bamford, C, Bell, L, Brown, C, Cooper, V, Daniel, L, Garstang, J, Jones, C, McCleery, JP, Liew, A, Rose, J, Simkiss, D, Steenfeldt-Kristensen, C, Welham, A & Richards, C 2026, 'The Development and Validation of Models of Risk for Behaviours That Challenge in Children With Developmental Disabilities: A Novel Machine Learning Approach', Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.70105

Nielsen, MB, Ong, JMJ, Hatt, EJ, Davies, GR, Chaplin, WJ, Hookway, GT, Stokholm, A, Scutt, OJ, Lund, MN & Garcıa, RA 2025, 'Asteroseismology with PBjam 2.0: measuring dipole mode frequencies in coupling regimes from main sequence to low-luminosity red giant stars', The Astronomical Journal, vol. 169, 322. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adcb37

Freckelton, AV, Mortier, A, Bedell, M, Morrell, S, Naylor, T, Buchhave, LA, Davies, GR, Hernández, JIG, Klein, B, de Mooij, EJW, Passegger, VM, Quirrenbach, A, Roy, A, Santos, NC, Sousa, SG, Mascareño, AS, Tsantaki, M & Zhao, LL 2025, 'gr8stars – I: A homogeneous spectroscopic study of bright FGKM dwarfs and a public library of their high-resolution spectra', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 540, no. 2, pp. 1786-1799. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf825

Larsen, JR, Lundkvist, MS, Davies, GR, Nielsen, MB, Ludwig, H-G, Zhou, Y, Díaz, LFR & Kjeldsen, H 2025, 'Granulation signatures in 3D hydrodynamical simulations: evaluating background model performance using a Bayesian nested sampling framework', Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 701, A92. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202555661

Hookway, GT, Nielsen, MB, Davies, GR, Lund, MN, García, RA, Mathur, S, See, V & Stokholm, A 2025, 'Peakbagging the K2 KEYSTONE sample with PBjam: characterising the individual mode frequencies in solar-like oscillators', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 544, no. 4, pp. 3247–3259. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf1869

PLATO M3 2025, 'The PLATO mission', Experimental Astronomy, vol. 59, no. 3, 26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-025-09985-9

Hatt, EJ, Ong, JMJ, Nielsen, MB, Chaplin, WJ, Davies, GR, Deheuvels, S, Ballot, J, Bugnet, L & Gang, L 2024, 'Asteroseismic Signatures of Core Magnetism and Rotation in Hundreds of Low-Luminosity Red Giants', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 534, no. 2, pp. 1060–1076. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stae2053

Li (李坦达), T, Bi (毕少兰), S, Davies, GR, Bedding, TR, Li (李亚光), Y, Stello, D & Reyes, C 2024, 'Asteroseismology of three evolved stars in M67: testing systematic biases in seismic masses and ages', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 530, no. 3, pp. 2810-2821. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stae1026

Ong, JMJ, Nielsen, MB, Hatt, EJ & Davies, GR 2024, 'Reggae: A Parametric Tuner for PBJam, and a Visualization Tool for Red Giant Oscillation Spectra', Journal of Open Source Software, vol. 9, no. 99, 6588. https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.06588

Saunders, N, van Saders, JL, Lyttle, AJ, Metcalfe, TS, Li, T, Davies, GR, Hall, OJ, Ball, WH, Townsend, R, Creevey, O & Dodds, C 2024, 'Stellar Cruise Control: Weakened Magnetic Braking Leads to Sustained Rapid Rotation of Old Stars', The Astrophysical Journal, vol. 962, no. 2, 138. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad1516

Lund, MN, Basu, S, Bieryla, A, Casagrande, L, Huber, D, Hekker, S, Viani, L, Davies, GR, Campante, TL, Chaplin, WJ, Serenelli, AM, Ong, JMJ, Ball, WH, Stokholm, A, Bellinger, EP, Bazot, M, Stello, D, Latham, DW, White, TR, Sayeed, M, Børsen-Koch, VA & Chontos, A 2024, 'The K2 Asteroseismic KEYSTONE sample of Dwarf and Subgiant Solar-Like Oscillators: I. Data and Asteroseismic parameters', Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 688, A13. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202450055

Conference contribution

Garcia, RA, Palakkatharappil, DB, Bugnet, L, Mathur, S, Liagre, B, Serenelli, A, Godoy-Rivera, D, Hamy, A, Prin, A, Beck, PG, Pinsonneault, M & Davies, GR 2024, Massive characterisation of subgiants and red giants with TESS (Kepler and Gaia). in TL Campante (ed.), 8th TESS/15th Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium Workshop. Zenodo, 8th TESS/15th Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium Workshop, Porto, Portugal, 15/07/24. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13647412

Davies, GR, Lyttle, A, Scutt, O, Stokholm, A & Nielsen, M 2024, PITCHFORK: Emulating individual mode frequencies of solar-like oscillators using a neural network. in 8th TESS/15th Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium Workshop. Zenodo, 8th TESS/15th Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium Workshop, Porto, Portugal, 15/07/24. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13378645

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