Sebastian Schuster

A great supervisor, supportive department, and a diverse range of teaching opportunities were highlights of Dr Sebastian Schuster’s time as a PhD candidate.

Now he intends to continue his postdoctoral research at universities around the world.

Sebastian’s research focused on general relativity, quantum field theory, their intersection in black hole physics, and so-called ‘analogue space-times.’

“My supervisor’s work came up whenever I found something in theoretical physics that interested me. Professor Matt Visser is an amazingly approachable, available, helpful and knowledgeable person. As it turned out, we have very similar ways to do research – and as a result we were able to write quite a few papers together in my time here.

“Both quantum field theory and general relativity have sets of mathematical tools that always fascinated me. After delving into them, I became quite familiar with their mathematical structure and I really enjoy putting them to use. Analogue space-times allow me to delve into a vast variety of different fields of physics and to see if the mathematical structures are the same.”

Sebastian finds Wellington to be just the right size – large enough to have everything one could want in a city and more (“it has an amazing number of cafés and cinemas…”), but small enough to be green, and reasonably calm. “The School of Mathematics and Statistics has been wonderful, as it has a warm, friendly and helpful atmosphere, which speaks for the quality of the supervisors and staff.”

He now intends to continue in an academic career. “I love to teach at university level and find research both rewarding and necessary. In the next few years, I aim to do a set of postdoctoral research positions around the globe and am curious to see where it will take me.”