Rate My Professor Jock Mcorist

Dr. Jock McOrist is a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics in the School of Science and Technology at the University of New England. Originally from Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales north coast, he attended Coffs Harbour High School before pursuing undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney, where he earned a B.Sc. with first-class honours and the University Medal in theoretical physics under Professor Don Melrose in 2003. He completed an M.Sc. by research in relativistic astrophysics at the University of Sydney in 2006, an M.S. by coursework at the University of Chicago in 2006, and a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 2009 under the supervision of Savdeep Sethi. Following his doctorate, McOrist held an EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Cambridge's Centre for Mathematical Sciences from 2009 to 2012. He was then tenured as a Lecturer and promoted to Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Surrey from 2012 to 2019 before joining the University of New England in January 2020.

McOrist's research focuses on the intersection of geometry and string theory, particularly using results from supersymmetric quantum field theories to study the geometry of moduli spaces in heterotic string compactifications. His primary research areas include mathematics, physics, differential geometry, and string theory. Notable publications include 'Universal Geometry of Heterotic Moduli' with P. Candelas, X. de la Ossa, and R. Sisca (JHEP 1902, 2019), 'A Metric for Heterotic Moduli' with P. Candelas and X. de la Ossa (Commun. Math. Phys. 356, 2017), 'On the Effective Field Theory of Heterotic Vacua' (Lett. Math. Phys. 108, 2018), 'M-theory and type IIA Flux Compactifications' with S. Sethi (JHEP 1212, 2012), and 'Small Gauge Transformations and Universal Geometry in Heterotic Theories' with R. Sisca (SIGMA, 2020). He has supervised PhD students including Roberto Sisca (2016-2019) and Andrea Fontanella (2015-2018, secondary). Awards and fellowships include the BHP Billiton Science and Engineering Fulbright Scholarship (2004-2009), Ledley Fellowship (2005-2009), Sugarman Prize (2009), EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellowship (2009-2012), PI on STFC Consolidated Grant at Surrey (2014-2018), Clay Mathematics Institute Workshop Grant (2014), University Medal from Sydney, and Dean's EMCR Research Excellence Award (2023). McOrist serves as Deputy HDR Coordinator in his school, co-founded the Australia and New Zealand Geometry, Strings and Fields seminar series, and has contributed to public outreach through appearances on ABC Radio National's Ockham's Razor.