Calum is a lecturer in physics at Edge Hill University where he studies topological solitons and enjoys talking about maths and physics to anyone who will listen. He can often be found on the side of a mountain or out on a bike, talking to himself about solitons.
More from Chalkdust

What’s hot and what’s not, Issue 22
Fashion is fleeting, Chalkdust regulars are not.
Oπnions: In defence of toy models
Calum gets on his soap box about toy models
Cryptic wordsearch, Issue 19
Can you solve it?
On the cover: skyrmions
Sven Bjarke Gudnason and Calum Ross introduce you to the wonderful world of skyrmions
Christmas lights, trees and maths
Why do Christmas lights get tangled? And what's the perfect way to decorate a Christmas tree? Find the answers here.
Can you make something out of nothing?
We explore the concept of emptiness in set theory, and explain how zero went from "nothing" to "something"
