Dr Toby Whitley

Dr Toby Whitley is a lecturer at the University of Plymouth, specializing in Analogue and Digital Electronics for wireless communications. He completed his doctorate at the University of Bristol and has been involved in several significant research projects. He worked on the SIBIS (Secure Interactive Broadcast Infotainment System) project, which focused on delivering encrypted content using a micro-payment model.
Later, he joined the OSIRIS (Open Infotainment Services In Radio Interconnected Systems) project as a Senior Research Fellow, where he developed a WIFI testbed using MIMO technology. OSIRIS, a multi-million-pound collaboration between the University of Bristol, Toshiba, and Qinetiq, aimed to provide universal access to high-quality broadband internet via handheld devices connected to public hotspots. The fruits of this project form part of the wireless technology we use today.
He then joined the University of Bath as a teaching and research fellow and worked on a project investigating Sprites and global lightning. He set up a network of data loggers at various locations around the world to record the Extremely Low Frequency signatures from sprites and their associated lightning strikes.
He continued at the University of Bath as a teaching fellow until joining Plymouth University in May 2012 where he has held roles including admission tutor and associate head of school for Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Robotics.

Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (MIET)
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Benjamin O'Driscoll, Supervisor  "Aptamer Functionalisation of Back-gated Graphene" 2018 - 2022 (Funded by the University of Plymouth) Carrie Haslam, Co-Supervisor " DC and Impedance Sensors based on Graphene for the Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Protein Biomarkers",Director of Studies, 2016 - 2020 (Funded by the University of Plymouth).

With a solid foundation in wireless communications, I lead several modules at the university. These include Analogue Electronics (ELEC141), High Speed Communications (ELEC345), and Distributed and Interactive Communications Systems (ELEC520). Additionally, I contribute to the first-year project module (Proj100), focusing on instrumentation and measurement. My teaching covers a variety of topics, including the continuing relevance of analogue (in our digital world), communications systems, and the intricacies of radio frequency design, which includes antennas, propagation, and channel access. Over the course of my career, I have won numerous awards, the most recent being the SSTAR award for inspirational teaching. This recognition serves as a testament to my commitment to delivering quality education. 

I took a year off to go mountaineering and then cycled down the east coast of Australia from Cairns to Cooktown then on to Sydney and have also completed a number of Ironman races, multi stage cycle races and other interesting events, most recently completing the Plymouth Breakwater Swim.