Rate My Professor David Hutchinson

Professor David Hutchinson is a Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics at the University of Otago. He earned a BSc and PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, along with a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts in Philosophy from the University of Otago. His career includes postdoctoral positions in Ireland at Dublin City University and in Canada at Queen's University, followed by a lectureship at Somerville College, University of Oxford from 1997 to 2000. He joined the University of Otago in 2000 as a lecturer, advancing to senior lecturer in 2003 and full professor in 2015. From 2015 to 2023, he served as the inaugural Director of the Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies, a national Centre of Research Excellence involving multiple universities, where he oversaw research programs, industry partnerships, and educational outreach initiatives, including collaborations with the Otago Museum, of which he is a board member since 2008. He coordinates the course PHSI 423 Advanced Quantum Mechanics I, teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and supervises Masters and PhD students.

Hutchinson's research focuses on theoretical quantum physics, with specializations in ultra-cold atomic gases and quantum systems. Key areas include disorder in ultracold atomic gases, path-integral quantum Monte Carlo studies of ultra-cold gases, finite-temperature theories, and links between quantum physics and number theory. He is a Fellow and former President of the New Zealand Institute of Physics, a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (UK), and a member of the Institute of Directors of New Zealand. Notable awards include the 2022 Thomson Medal from the Royal Society Te Apārangi for leadership in developing the Dodd-Walls Centre, and the 2004 Rowheath Trust Award and Carl Smith Medal from the University of Otago. Select publications are 'Momentum-space signatures of the Anderson transition in a symplectic, two-dimensional, disordered ultracold gas' (2024, Physical Review Research), 'Improving quantum annealing by engineering the coupling to the environment' (2023, EPJ Quantum Technology), 'The chicken or the egg? Coherence, entanglement, and superradiance' (2024, Te Whai Ao Dodd-Walls Centre Symposium), and 'What is it like to be a woman in physics in Aotearoa–New Zealand?' (2023, AIP Conference Proceedings).