Dr Steffen Gielen
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Senior Lecturer
Full contact details
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Hicks Building
Hounsfield Road
Sheffield
S3 7RH
- Profile
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After undergraduate studies in Hannover and Berlin and Part III Mathematics at Cambridge, I received my PhD from the University of Cambridge (2011). I worked as a postdoc at the Albert Einstein Institute in Potsdam, the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Imperial College London and CITA in Toronto. From 2018-2026 I was supported by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. I joined Sheffield originally as a Senior Research Fellow in 2019.
Summary of Research Project(s)
Royal Society University Research Fellowship renewal: "Time, clocks and singularities in quantum gravity"I mostly work on quantum models of cosmology and black holes, focusing on questions of singularity resolution and the role of time and clocks in quantum gravity.
- Research interests
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Growing random networks, algebraic graph theory, combinatorial graph theory, and degree asymptotics.
- Research group
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Gravitation and Cosmology
- Grants
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Royal Society University Research Fellowship & Renewal (2017, 2022)
Research Grants for Research Fellows (Royal Society) (2018)
Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship (2013)Prizes and Awards
Gravity Research Foundation Awards for Essays on Gravitation: Fifth Award (2022)
Buchalter Cosmology Prize: Second Prize (2017)
Václav Votruba Prize (2011)
Mayhew Prize (2017)Outstanding Reviewer Award, Classical and Quantum Gravity (2018, 2023)
Outstanding Referee of Physical Review journals (2025)
- Teaching interests
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Mathematical and theoretical physics, particularly modules related to quantum theory, relativity and quantum field theory.
- Teaching activities
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Currently (2026/27) teaching Quantum Theory (MPS316) and Quantum Field Theory (MPS452).
Tutorials (mostly Mathematics Core).
Frequent supervisor of MMath/MPhys/MSc final year and dissertation projects.
- Professional activities and memberships
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Member of Royal Society Newton International Fellowship Panel Ai (2024-26)
Member of Royal Society Hooke Committee (2025-27)
Member of EPSRC Mathematical Sciences Expert Panel for Fellowships (2025)