Rate My Professor Simon Watt

Dr. Simon Watt is a Lecturer in Mathematics in the School of Science at UNSW Canberra, University of New South Wales. His research focuses on applied mathematics, with emphasis on mathematical modeling of combustion waves, wildfire propagation, self-heating and spontaneous ignition processes, activated sludge wastewater treatment, chaotic laminar flows in reaction systems, seismic structural collapse, and humanitarian aid distribution in conflict environments. As a member of the Applied & Industrial Mathematics research group, he applies dynamical systems and numerical methods to address challenges in fire safety, environmental engineering, bioprocessing, and disaster management. Watt also contributes to the UNSW Bushfire research centre, advancing predictive models for extreme fire behavior.

Watt has produced over 60 publications, including 36 journal articles, 26 conference papers, and 4 preprints. Key recent works include 'Performance analysis of the activated sludge model number 1 in a two reactor cascade' (2024, Food and Bioproducts Processing), 'Incorporating Stochastic Wind Vectors in Wildfire Spread Prediction' (2023, Atmosphere), 'Numerical Study on Effect of Ambient Humidity Variation on Self-heating and Spontaneous Ignition of the Eucalyptus Bark Pile' (2021, Fire Technology), 'A Mathematical Model of Humanitarian Aid Agencies in Attritional Conflict Environments' (2021, Operations Research), 'Chaotic flow in competitive exothermic–endothermic reaction systems' (2021, Applied Mathematics Letters), 'Properties of nonadiabatic combustion waves in competitive exothermic reactions' (2020, Applied Mathematical Modelling), and 'Effectiveness of physics-based collapse criteria in seismic risk assessment of code-conforming low-rise RC framed structures' (2020, Structures). Highly cited contributions feature 'Linear and nonlinear dynamics of cylindrically and spherically expanding detonation waves' (2005, 70 citations), 'The accurate dynamic modelling of contaminant dispersion in channels' (1995, 50 citations), 'Deterministic KPZ model for stromatolite laminae' (2000, 43 citations), and 'Using phase change materials and air gaps in designing fire fighting suits: a mathematical investigation' (2019, 35 citations). He chairs the ANZIAM Early-Career Workshop 2026 and has organized events like MODSIM2019 and CTAC2020.