Contact Information

Research Interests

• High Performance Computing
• GPU-based Computing
• Numerical Modelling
  • Author of OpenDDA (http://www.opendda.org), a highly optimised computational framework, written in the C language, for the Discrete Dipole Approximation, a numerical method for calculating the optical properties associated with a target of arbitrary geometry that is widely used in atmospheric, astrophysical and industrial simulations.

Key/recent publications

• Mc Donald, J., Golden, A., Jennings, S. G., OpenDDA: A Novel High-Performance Computational Framework for the Discrete Dipole Approximation, International Journal of High Performance Computing Applications (IJHPCA), Volume 23, No. 1, 42-61, 2009.
• Harding, L. K., Butler, R. F., Redfern, R. M., Sheehan B. J., Mc Donald, J., “Optimised Post-Exposure Image Sharpening Code for L3-CCD Detectors”, Proceedings of the High Time Resolution Astrophysics: The Universe at Sub-Second Timescales, Edinburgh, Scotland, 984, 1, 235-240, 2007.
• Mc Donald, J., Golden, A., Jennings, S. G., “GRID-FDA: A new breed of DDA?”, Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium for Space Simulations (ISSS-7), Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, 261-262, 2005.

Teaching responsibilities

• 1st Year Physics Labs
• 2nd Year Tutorials
  • Mechanics, Oscillations & Waves
  • Electricity, Magnetism & Electrical Circuits
• 3rd Year Computational Physics Labs
• 3rd Year Physics Labs
• University Access Course