physics

Michael D. Towler

Michael D. Towler is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Michael D. Towler rather than just read about it. In short: Michael D. Towler (also referred to as Mike Towler, complete name Michael David Towler) is a theoretical physicist associated with the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge and formerly research associate at University College, London and College Lecturer at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Key takeaways

Michael D. Towler belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Michael D. Towler to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Michael D. Towler from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Michael D. Towler (also referred to as Mike Towler, complete name Michael David Towler) is a theoretical physicist associated with the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge and formerly research associate at University College, London and College Lecturer at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He created and owns the Towler Institute in Vallico di Sotto in Tuscany, Italy.

Biography

Education, career and personal life Towler obtained an undergraduate degree from Bristol University in 1991, as well as his Ph.D. in 1994. From 1994 to 1996, he was research fellow at the University of Torino, Italy. From 1997 onwards, he has been closely associated with the Theory of Condensed Matter group (TCM) of Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory. Initially, until 2000, he was postdoctoral research associate, subsequently held a Lloyd's Fellowship, and from 2002 to 2010 he was Royal Society research fellow of the Cavendish Laboratory. Additionally, from 2002 to 2012 he was a College Lecturer at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. In October 2010, Towler became a postdoctoral research associate at the Department of Earth Sciences, University College, London, although he retained a desk in TCM until 2015. He is married to bronze sculptor and philosopher Samantha Keil.

Work Towler has been working on electronic structure theory and its application to the simulation of physical systems, including quantum Monte Carlo simulations, density functional theory and methods of quantum chemistry. He has worked on foundational issues in density functional theory and in quantum mechanics, in particular concerning the de Broglie–Bohm theory and the pilot wave formulation. Towler developed the Cavendish Laboratory's de Broglie–Bohm simulation software LOUIS and is one of the principal authors of the Cambridge quantum Monte Carlo code CASINO. Earlier, Towler had maintained a resources page for the electronic structure program for the CRYSTAL software package.

Towler Institute In 2005, Towler opened the Towler Institute, a science institute, conference centre and events venue in a 16th-century monastery situated in the village Vallico di Sotto in Tuscany, Italy, which he owns. Since 2005, over 350 scientists have attended one or several of the 18 events held at the Towler Institute. The events include the annual conference series Quantum Monte Carlo in the Apuan Alps held annually in July since 2005 and, since August 2006, the annual Quantum Monte Carlo and the CASINO program summer schools. In 2010, together with Antony Valentini, he organized a conference on the de Broglie-Bohm theory the Apuan Alps Centre for Physics in late August 2010, hosted at the Towler Institute and attended by many leading physicists.

Publications As of August 2011, Towler is author of “almost 60 refereed publications with over 1200 citations and a H-index of 19”.

References

External links Mike Towler, homepage at Theory of Condensed Matter group (TCM), Cavendish Laboratory Mike Towler, at Cambridge University staff list Mike Towler, Grad course on de Broglie Bohm

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Michael D. Towler

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Michael D. Towler claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Michael D. Towler before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Michael D. Towler ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Michael D. Towler

In research: Michael D. Towler appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Michael D. Towler in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Michael D. Towler is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academics of University College London, British physicists, British quantum physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Michael D. Towler outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Michael D. Towler in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Michael D. Towler means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Michael D. Towler out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Michael D. Towler in simple terms?

Why does Michael D. Towler matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Michael D. Towler?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Michael D. Towler.