John Cater

Dr John Cater (Department of Engineering Science) is the Engineering Lead for the Auckland Programme for Space System at the University of Auckland. He graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Auckland, and a PhD in Fluid Dynamics from Monash University, Australia. This was followed by post-doctoral positions at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and the University of Cambridge, UK working on reducing aircraft noise. John then joined Queen Mary University of London, UK as a lecturer in Aerospace Engineering before returning to New Zealand as a Senior Lecturer in Fluid Dynamics in 2008. His research now encompasses a wide range of engineering problems, with a focus on the fluid mechanics and thermodynamics of biological systems and aerodynamics, as well as signal processing using high performance computing. Current research projects include the flow of digesta in sheep stomachs, surgical humidification and the control of wind turbines. In 2016, John initiated a joint project with Beijing Normal University, China, on environmental hydraulics, looking at numerical methods for predicting the spread of contaminants in waterways and coastal areas. Most recently John and Dr Nicholas Rattenbury (Physics) were awarded funding form the National Science Challenge, Science for Technological Innovation theme for developing miniaturised hardware for synthetic aperture radar, for the purposes of maritime monitoring of New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone.