Contact Information

Research Interests

Currently my primary interests are in higher education policy and practice, which includes inovation in teaching and learning.

Previously, prior to my current post, I had interests and publications in

• high redshift galaxy clusters and cosmology
• GMCs and star-formation
• the use of artificial neural networks in image analysis and interpretation (in satellit remote sensing)
• atmospheric scattering simulations and spacecraft attitude sensor development (ESA funded)

Key/recent publications

From my earlier incarnation in Astrophysics and related areas (most publications in last ten years, including four books, have been in higher education policy and practice):

1. Spectral Energy Distributions in Distant Clusters of Galaxies II. 0016+16 at z=0.54, R.S. Ellis, W.J. Couch, I. MacLaren, D.C. Koo, 1985, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 217, 239

2. The AAO Deep Cluster Catalogue, R.S. Ellis, W.J. Couch, I. MacLaren, D.F. Malin, 1985, Proc. Conf. On Galaxy Evolution at High Redshifts, Santa Barbara

3. Ultraviolet Colours of Early Type Galaxies in A370, I. MacLaren, R.S. Ellis, W.J. Couch, 1986, Stellar Populations, Space Telescope Series, 130

4. Spectral Energy Distributions in Distant Clusters of Galaxies III., A370 at z=0.37, I. MacLaren,. R.S. Ellis, W.J. Couch, 1988, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 230, 249

5. Corrections to Virial Estimates of Molecular Cloud Masses, I. MacLaren, K.M. Richardson, A.W. Wolfendale, 1988, Astrophysical Journal, 333, 821

6. Dust and the Mass of Gas in the Galaxy, A. Broadbent, I. MacLaren, A.W. Wolfendale, 1988, Dust in the Universe, p 435, eds: M.E. Bailey, D.A. Williams, Cambridge University Press

7. Far - Infrared Estimates of the Mass of Gas in the Galaxy, A. Broadbent, I. MacLaren, A.W. Wolfendale, 1989, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 237, 1075

8. Cosmic Rays and the Masses of Giant Molecular Clouds, I. MacLaren, K.M. Richardson, A.W. Wolfendale, 1989, Journal of Physics, G, 15, 1305

9. The Size-Linewidth Relation and the Mass of Molecular Hydrogen, M. Issa, I. MacLaren, A.W. Wolfendale, 1990, Astrophysical Journal, 352, 132

10. Dust-to-Gas Ratio and Metallicity Variations in Nearby Galaxies, M. Issa, I. MacLaren, A.W. Wolfendale, 1989, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 236, 237

11. The Mass of Molecular Hydrogen in the Galaxy, I. MacLaren, 1989, Irish Astronomical Journal, 19, 3, 154

12. The Cosmic Ray Gradient and Far-Infrared Observations as a Tracer of Molecular Material in the Galaxy, I. MacLaren and A.W. Wolfendale, 1990, Journal of Physics, G, 16, 1109

13. A Uniformly-Selected Catalogue of Distant Galaxy Clusters, W.J. Couch, R.S. Ellis, D.F. Malin, I. MacLaren, 1991, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 249, 606

14. Interim Report on Mosaic Earth Sensor Feasibility Study, C. Beard, C.N. Duncan, I. MacLaren, 1990, TP8760, British Aerospace Plc / European Space Agency

15. Final Report on Mosaic Earth Sensor Feasibility Study, C.Beard, C.N. Duncan, I. MacLaren, 1991, TP8829, British Aerospace Plc / European Space Agency

16. The Greenhouse Effect - Fact or Fiction?, 1992, CSTI Environmental Information Paper (co-author on behalf of Institute of Physics)

17. A Study of the Radiance of the Earth’s Limb Using Lowtran 7 and Meteosat Images, C.N. Duncan, I. MacLaren, T.Miles, G.C. Watson, 1992, 9^th Meteosat Scientific Users’ Meeting, Locarno, Switzerland, 1992, pp 83-88, EUM P 11, Eumetsat Publications.

18. Neural Networks and Cloud Classification, P.Walder, I. MacLaren, C.Reid, Image and Signal Processing for Remote Sensing, EurOpto, SPIE, 2315, pp 2 -11, 1994

19. Cloud Classification using Neural Networks, I. MacLaren, P. Walder, C. Reid, 10^th Meteosat Scientific Users’ Meeting, Cascais, Portugal, EUM P 15, pp 541-548, 1994

20. Classifying Land Use, N. Quarmby, G. Foody, I. MacLaren, Image Processing, 6, pp 28-30, 1994

21. Advanced Techniques for Meteosat Image Analysis, P. Walder, I. MacLaren,   Meteorological Satellite Data Users’ Conference, Vienna, Eumetsat Publications, EUM P 19, 105-110, 1996.

22. Neural Network Based Methods for Cloud Classification on AVHRR Images, P. Walder, I MacLaren, International Journal of Remote Sensing, 2000, 8, 1693-1708.

23. Using the World Wide Web for Remote Sensing Education and Training, I. MacLaren, C.N. Duncan, R. Vaughan, European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories Conference, Lyngby, Denmark, June 1997.

24.  Shared Teaching with Multimedia-enhanced Video-Conferencing, C.N. Duncan, M. Morrey, G. Bayne, I. MacLaren, P. Walder, J.McQuillan, ALT-J (Association for Learning Technology Journal), 6,3, 4-15

28  A Library of Multimedia Components for Science Education, J. McQuillan, I. MacLaren, Active Learning 11, Dec 1999.

35. New Trends in web-based learning: objects, repositories and learner engagement, I. MacLaren, European Journal of Engineering Education, 29, 1, 65-72, 2004

Teaching responsibilities

Previous experience: I have 15 years experience of teaching Physics and related subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate levels .

Tutoring and Lecturing on Physics Degree Programmes and Graduate Courses in Astrophysics (Cosmology, Galaxy Evolution and Star Formation), University of Durham

Programme Leader for BSc programmes in Physics at the University of the West of Scotland. 

Specific subjects taught:

• Electricity & Magnetism, 1st year
• Introductory Electronics, 2nd year
• Astrophysics, 3rd year, 4th year and Graduate level
• Remote Sensing, 4th year and Graduate level (including joint programmes shared between 5 Scottish Universities, using video-conferenced lectures and online resources)
• Atmospheric physics
• Undergraduate laboratory physics
• Computers and Data Handling (1st year)
• Artificial Neural Networks, graduate level
• Quantum Physics (1st/2nd year)
• Mathematical Methods (1st/2nd year)
• Galaxy Dynamics and Star Formation

I currently teach on the:

• PgCert in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education
• PgDip in Academic Practice
• MA in Academic Practice

And co-supervise PhD students on Higher Education