Research Interests
Dr. Chris Cantwell's research is centred around developing novel and scalable numerical approaches for efficiently modelling and understanding complex physical processes in the aerodynamics and biomedical domains. Much of his work to date has focused on the efficient implementation and application of spectral/hp element methods for performing high-fidelity numerical simulation and making these tools more accessible to users without a detailed understanding of the numerical methods. However, driven by applications in biomedicine, his research interests now include the fusion of numerical modelling with statistical methods and machine learning. He is a strong proponent of open-source software and is a project leader of the Nektar spectral/hp element framework which acts as a vehicle for much of his research.
Dr. Chris Cantwell is a member of the Imperial College Centre for Cardiac Engineering where he combines numerical modelling and signal processing with clinical data, medical imaging and basic laboratory science within the ElectroCardioMaths programme. Interests include techniques for the integration of patient data into personalised computer models; identifying and understanding pathological conditions for the perpetuation of atrial arrhythmias; and developing novel approaches to improve patient care. He works closely with clinicians and basic scientists in the Cardiology department at Hammersmith hospital and the Imperial Centre for Translational and Experimental Medicine. He has developed high-order spectral/hp element software for modelling electrical activity in the left atrium using the Nektar spectral/hp element library. This has the potential to allow rapid patient-specific simulation to be performed on clinically tractable timescales.