Expert in chemical modelling of planetary atmospheres, Eric has been studying very different environments, covering a broad range of physical and chemical conditions, from the deep chill of our outer Solar System through the hazy skies of our own early Earth to the blaze of the most recently discovered hot Jupiters. In Exeter, he is involved in the development and improvement of multidimensional chemical models of planetary atmospheres. Noticing the overlap of conditions (pressure, temperature, composition) between the atmospheres of hot Jupiters and car engines, he has contributed to the release of chemical models which successful bridges applied combustion and astrophysics. He has also contributed to the measurement of temperature-dependent VUV absorption cross sections, which are rare but essential data to model photochemical processes in atmospheric models. Finally, he has been responsible these past few years for a new and original strategy for evaluating and insuring both the accuracy and precision of models of these sometimes peculiar planetary atmospheres. It brings new insights into the way chemical models of planetary atmospheres can – and must! – be used.
