Bonnie Steves

Bonnie Steves is Professor of Mathematical Astronomy and Director of the Graduate School, Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU).  The Graduate School has University-wide responsibility for ensuring the academic quality of research student education and for providing leadership and support in the development of postgraduate taught Masters, research students and staff in their research career development.  From 2002-2008, she was Associate Dean of Research and Knowledge Transfer for the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences at GCU, responsible for the School’s research, income generation, knowledge transfer and commercialisation activities. 

Under her leadership, the GCU Graduate School was winner of the Times Higher Education’s Outstanding Support for Early Career Researchers award 2010, with Universities Scotland partners. The Graduate School at GCU is rated by students as first in Scotland according to the IBarometer student survey results 2009 and 2010. As Director of the Graduate School, she is leading postgraduate education research into the development and impact of Graduate Schools, the employability of Doctoral researchers, and the skills and attributes of researchers.  

Leader of a research team in Astrodynamics, Bonnie conducts research into celestial mechanics, solar system dynamics, stability and chaotic behaviour of stellar clusters, fractals and quaternionic theory.  She has refereed papers for six international scientific journals; and successfully supervised six PhD students.  Since 1993 she has been Director of four of the Cortina Series of Advanced Study Institutes (ASIs) for post-doctoral studies in celestial mechanics/astrodynamics – with recent grants totalling £68k for the 2007 ASI from EPSRC, STFC, ESF, SUPA and SUSSP.  She has published over 30 scientific papers, generated over £230k of research income (since 2000) and been the co-editor of five graduate textbooks arising from the ASIs.  She is recognised in the RAE2008 Applied Mathematics unit of assessment as the only small group entry of one to receive a world class (4*) and international excellence (3*) rating, with 5% research output rated at each of these top class levels.