I was born in Taree, NSW. I completed 1st Class Honours with a University Medal in Theoretical Physics at The University of New South Wales in 1983. After a PhD in Mathematics at ANU in 1987 I was a postdoc at Instituut Lorentz for Theoretical Physics in Leiden, The Netherlands.

On returning to Australia, much of my early research career was supported by the Australian Research Council, through a Queen Elizabeth II Research Fellowship, two Senior Research Fellowships and an Australian Professorial Fellowship. 

I was awarded The Australian Academy of Science Pawsey Medal (1997) for outstanding research in physics and The Australian Mathematical Society Medal (1998) for distinguished research in the mathematical sciences. 

I was promoted to Professor at ANU in 2001 and have held visiting positions at the Universities of Amsterdam, Oxford and Tokyo. In 2013 I took up a position at Chongqing University in China. In 2013 I also held a Visiting Fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford. 

From 2009-2103 I was Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical. Prior to this I was Mathematical Physics Section Editor (2007-2008) and a member of the Editorial Board (2005-2006). I have been Topical Reviews Editor since 2014. In 2007 I was a member of the Mathematical and Information Sciences and Technology Assessment Panel for the Australian Research Quality Framework. 

I am a Fellow of the Australian Mathematical Society, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (UK).