Dr Ian Phillips PhD MSc BSc

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Teaching Fellow

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0)121 414 5552
Email: i.d.phillips@bham.ac.uk

Address: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Ian Phillips is best known for writing the most comprehensive account of the 1973 Isle of Man Summerland fire disaster, which can be obtained by going to summerlandfiredisaster.co.uk. He gained his BSc Geography degree from the University of Birmingham in 1995, before continuing at the University to complete an MSc in Meteorology and Climatology and a PhD in Geography. Ian has been on the teaching staff of the University since September 1999. He is the Chairman of the West Midlands Centre of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Qualifications

PhD in Geography (The occurrence, dynamical structure and prediction of drought events over Devon and Cornwall over a forty year period), 2000

Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, 1999

MSc in Applied Climatology and Meteorology (Distinction), University of Birmingham, 1996

BSc (Hons) in Geography (First Class), University of Birmingham, 1995

Biography

Ian Phillips was born in Burton-upon-Trent in 1974. He comes from Tamworth in Staffordshire and was educated at St Elizabeth’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Tamworth and St Francis of Assisi RC Secondary School in Aldridge near Walsall. He read BSc Geography at the University of Birmingham between 1992-5. Ian continued at Birmingham University to complete an MSc in Meteorology and Climatology in 1996 and a PhD in Geography in 2000. Ian has been on the teaching staff of the University since September 1999, and lectures on weather, climate and statistics. He is the Chairman of the West Midlands Centre of the Royal Meteorological Society. Whilst Ian is a trained geographer and climatologist, he is best known for writing the most comprehensive account of the 1973 Summerland fire disaster on the Isle of Man.

Teaching

BSc Geography
BA Geography
BSc Environmental Sciences
MSc Applied Climatology and Meteorology
MSc Environmental Health (Statistics teaching only)
MSc Air Pollution, Management and Control (Statistics teaching only)

In addition to teaching meteorology and climatology, Ian Phillips is responsible for nearly all of the Statistics teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Research

The Isle of Man Summerland Holiday Centre Fire Disaster

The Climatology of the British Isles, especially rainfall variability

Other activities

Chairman of the West Midlands Centre of the Royal Meteorological Society. Ian is responsible of organising a programme of meetings for the Society at the University of Birmingham.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Lee, J, Phillips, I & Lynch, Z 2022, 'Causes and prevention of mobile crane-related accidents in South Korea', International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 469-478. https://doi.org/10.1080/10803548.2020.1775384

Lee, J, Dhesi, S, Phillips, I, Jeong , M, Kwon , K, Jung , D & Lee , C 2022, 'Equal opportunities for foreign seafarers to ensure sustainable development in the Korean merchant shipping industry', Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, vol. 10, no. 6, 830. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10060830

Lee, J, Dhesi, S, Phillips, I, Jeong , M & Lee , C 2021, 'Korean maritime cadets’ onboard training environment survey', Sustainability, vol. 13, no. 8, 4161. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084161

Neal, RA & Phillips, I 2011, 'Winter daily precipitation variability over Cumbria, Northwest England', Theoretical and Applied Climatology, vol. 106, no. 1-2, pp. 245-262. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-011-0483-z

Macdonald, N, Phillips, I & Mayle, G 2010, 'Spatial and temporal variability of flood seasonality in Wales', Hydrological Processes, vol. 24, no. 13, pp. 1806-1820. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7618

Neal, RA & Phillips, I 2009, 'Summer daily precipitation variability over the East Anglian region of Great Britain', International Journal of Climatology, vol. 29, no. 11, pp. 1661-1679. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1826

Morris, BJ & Phillips, I 2009, 'The effect of weather conditions on the Oxford-Cambridge University Boat Race', Meteorological Applications, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 157-168. https://doi.org/10.1002/met.93

Macdonald, N, Phillips, I & Thorpe, J 2008, 'Reconstruction of long-term precipitation records for Edinburgh: an examination of the mechanisms responsible for temporal variability in precipitation', Theoretical and Applied Climatology, vol. 92, no. 3-4, pp. 141-154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-007-0324-2

Phillips, I & Denning, H 2007, 'Winter daily precipitation variability over the South West Peninsula of England', Theoretical and Applied Climatology, vol. 87, pp. 103-122. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-005-0226-0

Phillips, I & Thorpe, J 2006, 'Icelandic precipitation - North Atlantic sea surface temperature assocations', International Journal of Climatology, vol. 26, pp. 1201-1221. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1302

Abstract

Al-Shatti, AA, Phillips, I & Baker, J 2009, 'Synoptic typing and its application to the investigation of weather - air pollution relationships in Kuwait', EGU2009-14043, EGU General Assembly 2009, 1/01/09.

Al Shatti, AA, Phillips, I & Baker, J 2009, 'Synoptic typing and its application to the investigation of weather - air pollution relationships in Kuwait', Geophysical Research Abstracts, vol. 11, pp. EGU2009-14043.

Other contribution

Phillips, I 2009, Isle of man Examiner: Summerland death toll figure could be amended..

Phillips, I 2007, Geographical bias over Summerland fire disaster: The Tamworth Herald 2nd August 2008..

Web publication/site

Phillips, I, From 21st century leisure to 20th century holiday catastrophe: the Isle of Man Summerland holiday centre fire disaster, 2009, Web publication/site.

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

Isle of Man Summerland holiday centre fire disaster and its implications; rainfall variations and drought occurrence over South West England

Expertise

The Isle of Man Summerland Fire Disaster; rainfall variability over Britain