Rate My Professor Anthony Yeates

Professor Anthony Yeates serves as Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Durham University within the field of Mathematics. He specializes in solar magnetohydrodynamics, focusing on the structure and evolution of the Sun's magnetic field through nonlinear, three-dimensional, time-dependent problems addressed via numerical simulations and analytical modelling. Yeates completed his PhD in 2009 at the University of St Andrews, supervised by Duncan Mackay and Eric Priest, with a thesis titled 'Development and Application of a Global Magnetic Field Evolution Model to the Sun,' which developed a global nonpotential model of the solar coronal magnetic field. Postdoctoral research followed at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, collaborating with Aad van Ballegooijen, and at the University of Dundee with Gunnar Hornig. He joined Durham University in 2011, advancing to full professor.

Yeates's research encompasses computational modelling of the Sun's large-scale magnetic field, solar dynamo models, and topology and reconnection of 3D magnetic fields. His publications appear in prestigious journals including The Astrophysical Journal, Astronomy & Astrophysics, and Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical. Key works include 'Introduction to Field Line Helicity' (2024, book chapter in Helicities in Geophysics, Astrophysics and Beyond), 'Global Coronal Equilibria with Solar Wind Outflow II – Optimising the Outflow Model' (in press, The Astrophysical Journal), 'Energy Bounds from Relative Magnetic Helicity in Spherical Shells' (2026, Astrophysical Journal), 'Latitude Quenching Nonlinearity in the Solar Dynamo' (2025), and 'Hemispheric Injection of Magnetic Helicity by Surface Flux Transport' (2019, Astronomy & Astrophysics). With over 3400 citations on Google Scholar, his contributions significantly influence solar physics, particularly in magnetic helicity, coronal equilibria, and space weather forecasting models. He supervises PhD students on solar corona eruptions, equilibria, and magnetic cycle models, and has delivered keynote addresses such as at the 2019 American Astronomical Society meeting. Yeates has also contributed to initiatives like the first Space Summer School for postgraduate students at Durham University and projects on space weather threats.