Dr. Neal Jackson

Biography

Neal Jackson is a Reader at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester. He obtained his BA in Natural Sciences (Physics) from Cambridge University in 1986, followed by a PhD in astronomy from the University of Manchester in 1989. After completing his PhD, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Manchester and later held a three-year postdoctoral researcher position at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands. He returned to Manchester as a temporary lecturer in 1994 and secured a permanent lectureship in 1998. His primary research interests lie in extragalactic astronomy, especially in the areas of gravitational lensing and the physics of active galactic nuclei. He has led efforts in discovering gravitational lenses and aims to develop new techniques to increase the sample size of such discoveries. He is also active in collaborations focused on topics related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Neal has been involved in significant projects including the CLASS gravitational lens search, which has led to the discovery of 22 lenses, contributing to the understanding of dark matter and luminous matter.

Research Interests

Experience