About Nevertopia

Rand, North Park, Colorado - Photo: Matthew Trump

Nevertopia is a word for a place out of time - a place which exists, which can be imagined, but which can never be visited in actuality or known with certainty.  It is like any reconstruction of the past - only a vision of how things might have been.

I am the Computing Officer for the Department of Archaeology at the University of York, UK where I teach, research and support the role of computing in archaeology and cultural heritage.  My specialty is in visualisations of the material past.  I have a particular emphasis on medieval European ecclesiastic spaces (churches) - which makes sense because my PhD is from the York Centre for Medieval Studies where I explored the late medieval relationship between people and God as expressed in parish churches.  If you're interested, you can download a copy of the thesis from the British Library.

The York-based Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture also employs me where I develop mobile apps for historic churches, create 3d models, and occasionally contribute research into the historical intersection of faith and architecture.

Finally, a few years ago I helped set up a relatively successful firm specialising in digital services and visualisation for historic sites - Heritage Technology, Ltd.

Most importantly, all this work puts food on the table and smiles on the faces of my kids and super-heroic wife.

I'm from many places but mainly Walden, Colorado.  A place which is fast on its way to Nevertopia.