Peter Robinson

Professor Peter Robinson holds the position of Professor in the School of Physics within the Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney, where he has been based since returning in 1997 and was promoted to a chair in 2000 or 2002. He leads the Complex Systems Group and conducts research in theoretical physics, with specializations in nonlinear dynamics, neurodynamics, space physics, plasma theory, and wave dynamics. Robinson obtained his PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Sydney in 1987. He then pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Colorado at Boulder until 1990 or 1991, returned to the University of Sydney joining the permanent staff in 1994, and served at Cornell University from 1994 to 1997 before rejoining Sydney. His work develops quantitative models of brain activity, including corticothalamic eigenmodes explaining EEG power spectra, sleep-wake transitions, attention, evoked responses, and pathological states such as epilepsy. In space physics, he contributes to models of wave propagation and instabilities relevant to solar radio emissions.

Key publications include 'Geometric constraints on human brain function' in Nature (2023), which showed that brain shape profoundly influences functional connectivity beyond neural activity alone; 'Near-critical corticothalamic eigenmodes: Effects of nonuniform connectomes' in Physical Review E (2025); 'Neural Field Theory of Evoked Response Sequences and Mismatch Negativity' in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2021); and numerous papers on stability and synchronization in brain networks. Robinson has received major honors, including an Australian Research Council Federation Fellowship and Laureate Fellowship (FL140100025, 2014, valued at $2,724,788). He is a member of the STEREO/WAVES science team and has been recognized among Sydney's top researchers in global elite rankings. His contributions extend to public lectures, such as 'The dynamic brain: modeling sleep, wake, and activity' at the Royal Society of NSW in 2010, and editorial roles in computational neuroscience journals.

Professional Email: peter.robinson@sydney.edu.au