Difference between revisions of "Nicholas P. Lawrence"

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Nicholas (Nick) Lawrence was born in Chichester, UK in 1972. He received the B.Sc.(Hons) in Physics from the University of Leicester, UK, in 1995 and the M.Sc. in Microwave Solid State Physics (Distinction) from the University of Portsmouth, UK in 1997. From 1998 to 2000, he worked in RF power amplifier design as an RF development engineer at Milmega Ltd., UK. From 2000 to 2002, Dr Lawrence studied fibre optic engineering at the ORC, University of Southampton, UK obtaining an MPhil in the process, before impending fatherhood led him back to industry at Wood & Douglas Ltd., UK, to work in OFDM and RF power systems, primarily for DVB-T broadcast and BBC 1 Formula One television. Following the untimely death of a family member, Nick was forced to alter his career path, instead opting for a stint in teaching secondary science, and in particular physics, to high school students in and around Portsmouth, UK. In 2005, Nick sought to extend his horizons, and opted to build, with his own hands, his growing family’s house in France, while working as an independent project manager on various construction projects, ranging from new build designs to renovation of old buildings using traditional methods. Throughout this time away from full-time RF design, he kept his skills up to date through off-site work with a RF power amplifier company based in the Bordeaux region of France. His linguistic ability in French has been commented upon by many, and coupled with his abilities in RF/microwave/optical engineering, and an ability to work precisely under little or no supervision means that he has worked closely with many French companies and continues to offer considerable potential to employers in solving problems to grow their business. In 2010, Nick and his family emigrated from France to Adelaide, Australia, after his wife was offered a senior position at a major hospital in the city. Following a period researching MIMO and diversity techniques at the University of South Australia, Dr Lawrence began his doctoral studies at the University of Adelaide, Australia under the supervision of Professor Derek Abbott, Dr Brian Ng, and Dr Hedley Hansen of the Defence, Science and Technology Group (DSTG), a large government research facility based in the outskirts of Adelaide. After only three and a half years of study, his PhD in Tri-Orthogonal Polarisation Diverse Communications was granted with a Dean’s commendation for doctoral thesis excellence. This period produced a total of nine publications in high quality scientific journals, as well as the simulation, design and subsequent testing of a planar antenna providing three orthogonal modes capable of providing beam-steerable radiation from the antenna surface through combinations of electromagnetic field phase variation and differentially fed modal inputs. Since the granting of his doctorate in 2017, Dr Lawrence has worked on various contracts with DSTG, ranging from antenna design and testing to novel microwave absorber design. Dr Lawrence is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), UK, and a former member (lapsed subscription) of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIoL), UK.

Bachelor's degree

• BSc Physics (Hons), University of Leicester, UK.
• Project: The Characteristics of Semiconductors at Extremes of Temperature.

Master's degree

• MSc Microwave Solid State Physics (Distinction), University of Portsmouth, UK.
• Thesis: The Design of Hybrid Circuits Using Coplanar Waveguide.

Master's degree

• MPhil Optical Distributed Sensing Methods, ORC, University of Southampton, UK.
• Thesis: Microwave Detection Techniques Applied to Temperature and Strain Sensing of Optical Fibres.

Doctoral degree

• Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Adelaide, Australia
• Thesis: * Thesis: Tri-orthogonal polarization diverse communications, , under Derek Abbott, Brian Ng, and Hedley Hansen

‘This thesis investigates improving communication link coverage through tri-orthogonal polarisation diversity that exploits radiated electromagnetic energy transmission and reception in three orthogonal spatial directions. A tri-orthogonal polarisation diverse approach is shown in the thesis to be beneficial for signal reception over a range of channels, both in the areas of terrestrial and satellite communications. Both software and hardware original contributions are presented. The thesis is relevant to next generation wireless communications as tri-orthogonal polarisation diversity is likely to play an increasing role in the future as systems look to cope with increasing data traffic through efficient use of electromagnetic energy.’

Positions

• Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Adelaide, SA, Australia (2017–Present)
• PhD Researcher, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Adelaide, SA, Australia (2013–2017)
• Researcher, Institute for Telecommunications Research (ITR), The University of South Australia, SA, Australia (2011–2012)
• Independent Project Manager, France (2005–2010)
• RF/Microwave Engineer, RFPA SA, France (2003–2005)
• Teacher of Secondary Science, Portsmouth, UK (2004–2005)
• RF/Microwave Engineer, Wood & Douglas Ltd, Baughurst, UK (2002–2003)
• RF/Microwave Engineer, Milmega Ltd, Isle of Wight, UK (1998–2000)
• Sales & Marketing Representative, Zeneca Agrochemicals, (1996)
• Civil & Coastal Engineer,Lawrence & Davies Construction, Chichester, UK (1995–1996)

Awards and Additional Qualifications

• Dean’s Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence, (2017)
• Australian Postgraduate Award (APA), (2012)
• Chartered Engineer (CEng) Status, (2004)
• Chartered Linguist (CMIoL), (2000)
• Dip. in French Translation (level equivalent to BA (French)), (2000)
• A-levels in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, and French. 10 GCSEs, (1991)

Scientific genealogy

• Lawrence's math genealogy

Google Scholar profile

• Lawrence's Google Scholar profile

Journal articles

[1] N. P. Lawrence, B. W.-H. Ng, H. J. Hansen, and D. Abbott, "5G terrestrial networks: Mobility and coverage–solution in three dimensions," IEEE Access, Vol. 5, pp. 8064–8093, 2017, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2017.2693375 Scholar Google hits ResearchGate Academia

[2] N. P. Lawrence, C. Fumeaux, and D. Abbott, "Planar triorthogonal diversity slot antenna," IEEE Transactions on Antennas & Propagation, Vol. 65, No. 3, pp. 1416–1421, 2017, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2016.2647719 Scholar Google hits ResearchGate Academia

[3] N. P. Lawrence, C. Fumeaux, and D. Abbott, "Wideband substrate-integrated monopole antenna," Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, Vol. 58, No. 8, pp. 1855–1857, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mop.29925 Scholar Google hits ResearchGate Academia

[4] N. P. Lawrence, H. J. Hansen, and D. Abbott, "Tri-orthogonal polarization diversity for 5G networks," Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technologies, pp. 2161–3915, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ett.3042 Scholar Google hits ResearchGate Academia

Conference articles

[5] N. P. Lawrence, H. J. Hansen, and D. Abbott, "Implications of polarization impurity on diversity for 5G networks," Proc. 41th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves, (IRMMW-THz), Copenhagen, Denmark, September 25–30, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IRMMW-THz.2016.7758493

[6] N. P. Lawrence, B. W.-H. Ng, H. J. Hansen, and D. Abbott, "Analysis of millimeter-wave polarization diverse MIMO capacity," Proc. 39th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves, (IRMMW-THz), Tucson, Arizona, September 14–19, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IRMMW-THz.2014.6956121 Scholar Google hits ResearchGate

[7] N. P. Lawrence, B. W.-H. Ng, H. J. Hansen, and D. Abbott, "Analysis of polarization diversity at terahertz frequencies," Proc. 39th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves, (IRMMW-THz), Tucson, Arizona, September 14–19, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IRMMW-THz.2014.6956120 Scholar Google hits ResearchGate

[8] N. P. Lawrence, H. J. Hansen, and D. Abbott, "Implications of polarization impurity on diversity for 5G networks," Proc. 41th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves, (IRMMW-THz), Copenhagen, Denmark, September 25–30, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IRMMW-THz.2016.7758493

[9] N. P. Lawrence, B. W.-H. Ng, H. J. Hansen, and D. Abbott, "Analysis of millimeter-wave polarization diverse MIMO capacity," Proc. 39th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves, (IRMMW-THz), Tucson, Arizona, September 14–19, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IRMMW-THz.2014.6956121 Scholar Google hits ResearchGate

[10] N. P. Lawrence, B. W.-H. Ng, H. J. Hansen, and D. Abbott, "Analysis of polarization diversity at terahertz frequencies," Proc. 39th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves, (IRMMW-THz), Tucson, Arizona, September 14–19, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IRMMW-THz.2014.6956120 Scholar Google hits ResearchGate

See also

• List of Derek Abbott's PhD students

External links

• Lawrence's GS profile
• Lawrence's RG profile
• Lawrence's LinkedIn profile
• Lawrence's ORCID

Back

• Back to MyUni
• Back to Derek Abbott's homepage
• Back to EEE Department page
• Back to the University of Adelaide homepage