From Maclaurin to Maxwell, Somerville to Kelvin, Scotland has a rich legacy in science and mathematics dating back to the Scottish Enlightenment, which earned the capital Edinburgh the nickname "Athens of the North".

I first visited Scotland in 2016 when I travelled to St Andrews to collaborate with Jonathan Fraser. I instantly fell in love with the uniquely friendly and collaborative environment within the department and the evident quality of life which is possible in Scotland. When the opportunity arose to apply for a postdoc at St Andrews, it was a no-brainer. I have been working at St Andrews since 2020, and living in Edinburgh since 2021.

One of my priorities as a researcher is to foster meaningful connections within my local community - at St Andrews and with other Scottish universities. As a researcher it is easy to get so absorbed with long-distance collaborations that one neglects the connections that could be the most sustainable and enriching in the long term - those that are on our doorstep.

One of the main ways I am currently doing this is through organising the Scottish Dynamics Network (see below). I am also an editor for the Journal of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the St Andrews representative for the Edinburgh Mathematical Society

With colleagues from Glasgow and Heriot Watt, we set up the Scottish Dynamics Network in 2024 in order to connect mathematicians in Scotland who are working in dynamical systems. The network was designed to be a Scottish analogue of the longstanding "One day Ergodic Theory and Dynamical Systems" network in England, of which several of us had previously been a part of.

The Scottish Dynamics Network is currently funded by the Edinburgh Mathematical Society and the Glasgow Journal Mathematical Trust. We organise around 3 meetings a year, one at each of the host institutions, for an afternoon of talks and networking.