Mr Charles B. Burson-Thomas MEng, PGCE
Postgraduate Researcher
Charles Burson-Thomas is a postgraduate researcher within Engineering and the Physical Sciences at the University of Southampton.
Theory and experiment, they belong together; the one without the other remains unfruitful. We are fully justified in applying Kant’s well-known words on the unity of concept and intuition and saying: theories without experiments are empty, experiments without theory are blind -Max Plank, 1937.
Charles graduated with a 1st Class degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Nottingham in 2008. After a year working as a Graduate Engineer at Bombardier Transportation, he embarked on a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). Following this, he worked in a number of schools in Kent, teaching: Physics, Mathematics, Design and Technology, and Applied Science. He has also held two positions of leadership, firstly Head of Physics and latterly Head of Sailing.
After teaching for just over five years, Charles found himself missing the closer connection with engineering he previously enjoyed. The opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of engineering science, via conducting research, was a highly attractive proposition. In January 2016 he started his PhD in the national Centre for Advanced Tribology at Southampton (nCATS), under the supervision of Prof Robert Wood and Dr Terry Harvey. His focus is the fundamental physics of high-speed water droplet impact on aeroengine fan blades, where he plans to use a mixture of theory and experiment to investigate the phenomenon.