Melvin Varughese Room: 3.20 PD Hahn (North) building Phone: (021) 650 5230 Fax: (021) 650 4773 Email: melvin[dot]varughese[at]uct[dot]ac[dot]za

 

Current Research / Research Interests

My interests are primarily in the application of statistics to cosmology and ecology.

Current projects include:

• estimation of the volumetric rates for type Ia supernova

• the accuracy of a diffusion approximation to the traditional Kolmogorov equations used for population modelling

• an investigation into whether the universe has undergone past phases of acceleration

Qualifications and Experience

BSc (Actuarial Science, Statistics, Physics, Wits)

BSc Hons (Actuarial Science, Wits)

Diploma in Actuarial Techniques (Faculty of Actuaries)

MSc with distinction (Statistics, Wits)

Currently studying towards a PhD in Statistics at UCT

Publications

1. Varughese M and Fatti P, 2008. Incorporating environmental stochasticity within a biological population model. Theoretical Population Biology. 74: 115-129.

2. Varughese M and Fatti P, 2008. Parameter estimation for a stochastic differential representation of a population: a likelihood approach  (submitted to journal).