Rate My Professor Tom Montenegro-Johnson

Professor Tom Montenegro-Johnson is Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Mathematics Institute at the University of Warwick, a position held since 2024. Prior to this, he was Professor of Applied Mathematics at the School of Mathematics, University of Birmingham from 2023 to 2024, progressing from Reader (2020–2023), Senior Lecturer (2017–2020), and Lecturer (2014–2017). His earlier career included an 1851 Research Fellowship and Research Associateship at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge (2013–2014), and a Research Fellowship at the School of Mathematics, University of Birmingham (2009–2013). Montenegro-Johnson earned his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Birmingham in 2013, an MPhil in Earth Sciences from the BP Institute, University of Cambridge in 2009, a BA in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge in 2008, and a PGCHE from the University of Birmingham in 2014.

An interdisciplinary mathematician, Montenegro-Johnson explores complex interacting systems, from soft microscale devices and active matter to responsive hydrogels, microfluidics, biological flows, and human urban mobility in extreme weather. His methodologies encompass asymptotic analysis, numerical solutions of partial differential equations, agent-based modelling, and machine learning acceleration for soft matter simulations. He leads the Soft Mathematics Group, supervises postdoctoral researchers and PhD students, and holds key leadership positions as Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research (STEM, IKEP) and Director of Engagement at the Centre for Applications of Mathematical and Computing Sciences (CAMaCS). Major funding includes the Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership Award for Shape Transforming Active Matter (2020–2026). Key publications feature Shape-programmed 3D printed swimming microtori (Nature Communications, 2019), Slender Phoretic Loops and Knots (Physical Review Fluids, 2024), Swelling and shrinking of thermo-responsive hydrogels (Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2023), and Dynamics of active poroelastic filaments in Stokes flow (Physical Review E, 2025). Recognized with a shortlisting for the UK Blavatnik Award, IDRF Spotlight Award, and others, he contributes to public engagement via museum exhibits and industry consultancy.