Thomas Dickson

PhD Studentship in Colonising the last place on earth@: Quantifying Polynesian canoe performance under different climate regimes

Hi, I'm Thomas Dickson and I have funding support from the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute at the University of Southampton.

Using modern naval architecture to solve one of the past’s greatest mysteries.

I am applying modern naval architecture to identifying and understanding how the ancient Polynesians voyaged across Oceania. Quantifying the uncertainties inherent in Archaeology in an engineering manner and creating a model to investigate voyaging craft performance across a hugely varied geography makes this a truly trans disciplinary PhD. My supervisors are Dr James Blake (Faculty of Engineering and the Environment) and Dr David Sear (Faculty of Social, Human and Mathematical Sciences).