Rate My Professor Hamish Bowman

Hamish Bowman serves as the Computing and Numerical Simulation Technician in the Department of Geology at the University of Otago. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Earth and Space Science, with a concentration in Mathematics, from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, awarded in 1996. Before joining the University of Otago in his current capacity, Bowman worked as an Engineer with Brightwaters Instrument Corp from 1995 to 1999. Between 2000 and 2009, he undertook various contract science roles for ECNZ/Meridian Energy, the Ministry for the Environment, the Department of Conservation, Port Otago, and the University of Otago Department of Marine Science. In his present role, he delivers high-performance computing support, participates in numerical modelling and programming, and handles the design and fabrication of electronics and scientific instrumentation. Bowman plays an essential role in the department's controlled-source seismology research, where he supports specialized field and laboratory software and hardware systems, leveraging his expertise in quantitative and numerical studies of marine and ocean environments.

Bowman's academic and research contributions span geophysics, marine science, and computational modelling. His research interests include the physical parameters influencing underwater habitats in New Zealand's fjords and modelling of storm surges and coastal wave exposure. He is a co-author on several peer-reviewed publications and conference proceedings, such as Unland, E., Gorman, A. R., Barnes, P. M., Moy, C. M., Bowman, H., Wilson, G. S., et al. (2025). 'Exploring the submarine geomorphology of Te Rua-o-te-Moko Fiordland, Aotearoa New Zealand' published in Frontiers in Earth Science, 13, 1620747; Unland, E., et al. (2024). 'Assessing carbon storage capacities in Fiordland fjords: Insights from high-resolution seismic imaging' in Geoscience Society of New Zealand Miscellaneous Publication 167A; Still, H., Hulbe, C., Bowman, H., Odolinski, R., & Prior, D. (2024). 'Monitoring ice dynamics with low-cost GNSS positioning in Antarctica'; Hansen, O., Gorman, A., Bowman, H., Keller, E., & Carter, C. (2024). 'High-resolution seismic imaging and stratigraphic analysis of the Discovery Deep Basin: Implications for climate records and basin geodynamics beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica'; and Fleming, M., Prior, D., Cross, A., Goldsby, D., Thomas, R., Bowman, H., & Pooley, B. (2024). 'Recrystallized grain-size and subgrain-size piezometer for ice with application to natural ice in Antarctica', all in Geoscience Society of New Zealand Miscellaneous Publication 167A. Earlier contributions include Vaughan, M. J., & Bowman, M. H. (2016). 'Monitoring the temperature-dependent elastic and anelastic properties of glacier ice with crosshole seismic measurements' in The Cryosphere, 10(6), 2821-2829. Since 2002, Bowman has been a member of the GRASS GIS core development team and has undertaken various roles within the OSGeo Foundation, advancing open-source geospatial technologies.