# John Wheater
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{{Short description|British particle physicist (born 1958)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}
{{Infobox scientist
| birth_name = John Feather Wheater
| name = John Wheater
| image = John Wheater,.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Wheater speaking at [St Cross College, Oxford](/source/St_Cross_College%2C_Oxford), 25 February 2017[{{cite web| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kO2wNw5jy4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/_kO2wNw5jy4 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live| title=The Émigrés in Oxford Physics – HAPP Centre – Professor John Wheater | date=2 March 2017 | publisher=[YouTube](/source/YouTube) | author=St Cross College | author-link=St Cross College, Oxford | access-date=11 April 2020 }}{{cbignore}}]
| honorific suffix =
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1958}}
| birth_place = [London](/source/London), England
| field = [Physics](/source/Physics)
[Theoretical physics](/source/Theoretical_physics)
[Particle physics](/source/Particle_physics)
| education =
| alma_mater = [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford) (BA, DPhil)
| thesis_title = The Determination of the Electroweak Mixing Angle from Experiments
| thesis_url = https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.331171
| thesis_year = 1981
| doctoral_advisor = [Christopher Llewellyn Smith](/source/Christopher_Llewellyn_Smith)
| academic_advisors =
| doctoral_students = [Simon Catterall](/source/Simon_Catterall)
[Neil Ferguson](/source/Neil_Ferguson_(epidemiologist))[{{cite thesis |website=bodleian.ox.ac.uk |first=Neil Morris |last=Ferguson |degree=DPhil |title=Continuous interpolations from crystalline to dynamically triangulated random surfaces |url=http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/permalink/f/89vilt/oxfaleph015728374 |id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.239308}} |oclc=556755377 |publisher=University of Oxford |year=1994 |access-date=17 April 2020 |archive-date=12 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412155150/http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=oxfaleph015728374&vid=SOLO&search_scope=LSCOP_ALL&tab=local&lang=en_US&context=L |url-status=dead }}]
| notable_students =
| influences =
| influenced =
| awards = [Maxwell Medal and Prize](/source/Maxwell_Medal_and_Prize)
[University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford)
| website = {{URL|https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/contacts/people/wheater}}
}}
'''John Feather Wheater''' (born 1958, in [London](/source/London)) is a British physicist. He is a professor at the [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford), specializing in [particle physics](/source/particle_physics).[{{cite web| url=https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2011-08-04/john_wheater_cv_2015_pdf_96715.pdf | title=Curriculum Vitae: John Feather WHEATER | publisher=[Department of Physics, University of Oxford](/source/Department_of_Physics%2C_University_of_Oxford) | first=John F. | last=Wheater | date=2015 | access-date=10 April 2020 }}][{{cite web| url=https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/contacts/people/wheater | title=John Wheater | publisher=[Department of Physics, University of Oxford](/source/Department_of_Physics%2C_University_of_Oxford) | location=UK | access-date=20 April 2020 }}][{{cite web| url=https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/academics/john-wheater/ | title=John Wheater | publisher=[University College, Oxford](/source/University_College%2C_Oxford) | location=UK | access-date=20 April 2020 }}][{{cite web| url=https://www-thphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/people/JohnWheater/ | title=John Wheater | publisher=Theoretical Physics, [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford) | location=UK | access-date=20 April 2020 }}]
==Education==
Wheater was educated at [St Paul's School, London](/source/St_Paul's_School%2C_London) and the [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford), where he read [Physics](/source/Physics) at [Christ Church](/source/Christ_Church%2C_Oxford) from 1976 to 1979, graduating with a first class degree and winning the Scott Prize for Physics.[{{cite web| url=https://academictree.org/physics/peopleinfo.php?pid=453632 | title=John F. Wheater | work=Physics Tree | publisher=[Academic Tree](/source/Academic_Tree) | access-date=10 April 2020 }}]
==Career and research==
Wheater was a [Junior Research Fellow](/source/Junior_Research_Fellow) in [theoretical physics](/source/theoretical_physics) at Christ Church during 1981–84. In 1984–85, he was a lecturer in [theoretical particle physics](/source/theoretical_particle_physics) at [Durham University](/source/Durham_University).
In 1985, Wheater joined the academic staff of the [Department of Physics](/source/Department_of_Physics%2C_University_of_Oxford) at Oxford University, initially as a lecturer. He was also a [fellow](/source/Fellow_(college)) of [University College, Oxford](/source/University_College%2C_Oxford), from 1985 until 2015.[{{cite web| url=https://www.iop.org/about/awards/early-career/maxwell/medallists/page_38660.html | title=Maxwell medal recipients | publisher=[Institute of Physics](/source/Institute_of_Physics) | access-date=11 April 2020 }}] He was Head of the Physics Department between 2010 and 2018. In 2015, he was appointed as Professor of Physics. Wheater leads the Particle Theory Group.[{{cite web| url=https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/particle-theory | title=Particle Theory | publisher=[Department of Physics, University of Oxford](/source/Department_of_Physics%2C_University_of_Oxford) | location=UK | access-date=10 April 2020 }}]
[[File:Beecroft Bldg Oxford.jpg|thumb|The [Beecroft Building](/source/Beecroft_Building), part of the Department of Physics, opened in 2018 under Wheater's leadership]]
During Wheater's term as Head of the Department of Physics, the new [Beecroft Building](/source/Beecroft_Building) in the department was initiated.[{{cite web| url=https://www.planetpartitioning.co.uk/planet-partitioning-secure-contract-for-beecroft-building/ | title=Planet Partitioning secure contract for University of Oxford's the Beecroft building | publisher=Planet Partitioning | location=UK | date=14 March 2017 | access-date=10 April 2020 }}][{{cite web| url=https://www.hawkinsbrown.com/projects/the-beecroft-building | title=Beecroft Building, University of Oxford | publisher=[Hawkins\Brown](/source/Hawkins%5CBrown) | date=2020 | access-date=10 April 2020 }}] It was opened in 2018 by Sir [Tim Berners-Lee](/source/Tim_Berners-Lee) (who formerly studied physics at Oxford),[{{cite web| url=https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/the-beecroft-building | title=The Beecroft Building | publisher=[Department of Physics, University of Oxford](/source/Department_of_Physics%2C_University_of_Oxford) | location=UK | access-date=11 April 2020 }}] in the presence of Wheater as Head of department, Professor [Louise Richardson](/source/Louise_Richardson) ([Vice-Chancellor of Oxford](/source/Vice-Chancellor_of_Oxford)), [Chris Patten](/source/Chris_Patten) ([Chancellor of Oxford](/source/Chancellor_of_Oxford)), and [Adrian Beecroft](/source/Adrian_Beecroft) (part-funder of the building).[{{cite web| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsuMz-Ep7gQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/OsuMz-Ep7gQ |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live| title=The opening of Oxford's Beecroft Building | author=University of Oxford | author-link=University of Oxford | publisher=[YouTube](/source/YouTube) | date=27 September 2018 | access-date=11 April 2020 }}{{cbignore}}]
In 2018–19, Wheater was invited to be a visiting professor at the QMATH-center in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the [University of Copenhagen](/source/University_of_Copenhagen), Denmark.[{{cite web| url=https://www.math.ku.dk/english/about/news/new-names/john-wheater-qmath/ | title=Professor John Wheater, guest at QMATH | publisher=Department of Mathematical Sciences, [University of Copenhagen](/source/University_of_Copenhagen) | location=Denmark | date=21 December 2018 | access-date=11 April 2020 }}][{{cite web| url=https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1557-7091 | title=John Wheater | publisher=[ORCID](/source/ORCID) | access-date=10 April 2020 }}]
Wheater's former doctoral students include [Neil Ferguson](/source/Neil_Ferguson_(epidemiologist)),[ who initially studied physics at Oxford University, but later became an epidemiologist and professor of [mathematical biology](/source/mathematical_biology) at [Imperial College London](/source/Imperial_College_London) and was an influential scientist in the [UK government](/source/UK_government) strategy for the [COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom](/source/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_Kingdom).][{{cite news| url=https://www.ft.com/content/7e56cf84-6a9e-11ea-a3c9-1fe6fedcca75 | title=Neil Ferguson, a virus modeller sounds the alarm | newspaper=[Financial Times](/source/Financial_Times) | first=Pilita | last=Clark | date=20 March 2020 | access-date=10 April 2020 }}]
===Selected publications===
Wheater publications[{{cite web| url=https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/contacts/people/wheater/publications | title=John Wheater – publications | publisher=[Department of Physics, University of Oxford](/source/Department_of_Physics%2C_University_of_Oxford) | location=UK | access-date=10 April 2020 }}][{{cite web| url=https://arxiv.org/a/wheater_j_1.html | title=John F. Wheater's articles on arXiv | work=[arXiv](/source/arXiv) | publisher=[Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University) | location=USA | access-date=10 April 2020 }}] include:
* Low-energy predictions from grand unified theories[[C.H.L. Smith](/source/Christopher_Llewellyn_Smith), [G.G. Ross](/source/Graham_Ross_(physicist)), J.F. Wheater, Low-energy predictions from grand unified theories. ''[Nuclear Physics B](/source/Nuclear_Physics_B)'', 1981. {{doi|10.1016/0550-3213(81)90391-6}}]
* C.H.L. Smith, J.F. Wheater, Electroweak radiative corrections and the value of sin2θW. ''[Physics Letters B](/source/Physics_Letters_B)'', 1981.
* J.F. Wheater, C.H.L. Smith, Electroweak radiative corrections to neutrino and electron scattering and the value of sin2θW. ''Nuclear Physics B'', 1982.
* I.I. Kogan, N.E. Mavromatos, J.F. Wheater, D-brane recoil and logarithmic operators. ''Physics Letters B'', 1996.
* P. Austing, J.F. Wheater, Convergent Yang-Mills matrix theories. ''[Journal of High Energy Physics](/source/Journal_of_High_Energy_Physics)'', 2001.
==Personal life==
Wheater is married with two daughters.