Phil joined the then Department of Surveying in 1995 at Newcastle University as a Systems Programmer and IT advisor. Previously he worked at Nissan as a Software Developer writing in-house system software and participating in the development of 3D Cad. He has continued to focus on the development of systems and software in the geospatial field. His research interests include:

• The internet of things - specifically geosensors and embedded sensors and their incorporation into the geo-information stream
• Next generation analytics - the application of real-time data and spatial data to facilitate near real-time processing, modelling, simulation and prediction
• Spatial data management in traditional relational systems and NoSQL type structures 

He works closely with many different groups in the University including Engineering, Computer Science, Agriculture and the social sciences.

Phil leads the Urban Observatory Programme in the University and co-lead the national UKCRIC observatory programme through the CORONA project. He leads the Smart CIties theme within the £4.9m Pitch-IN project removing barriers to the uptake of the Internet of Things.

Phil works closely with a large number of industrial stakeholders including Northumbria Water, Siemens, the Ordnance Survey, the Environment Agency and others. Through the Observatory programme he works with national and local stakeholders including the combined authorities.