School of Physics & Astronomy

Role(s): Academic

Current research

My research interests span the following themes:

(1) Self-organisation in nanostructured systems. Colloidal nanoparticle solutions produce a remarkably wide variety of intricate and striking non-equilibrium patterns. Scanning probe microscopy coupled with quantitative image analysis/morphometry and Monte Carlo simulations are used to study (and, in some cases, control) pattern formation and evolution in these systems. The dynamics of dewetting plays a central role in the assembly of nanoparticle arrays from solution and recent work has focussed on controlling just how the solvent wets and subsequently dewets the substrate.

(2) Electrons in Molecular Assemblies. Synchrotron radiation spectroscopies (photoemission, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray standing wave spectroscopy) have been used extensively to study the interactions and electronic properties of fullerenes (including endohedral, functionalised, and "on-cage" doped species) and phthalocyanines with semiconductor and metal surfaces.

(3) Single molecule manipulation and spectroscopy. New research programmes focussed on the application of atomic force microscopy to the controlled positioning (and spectroscopy) of molecular adsorbates on metal, semiconducting, and insulating surfaces have been initiated. These programmes are based on low temperature (~4 K) and variable temperature (~ 25 K - 1000 K) ultrahigh vacuum STM/AFM instruments delivered in mid- and late 2007.

(4) Scanning probe instrument development. I have an ongoing interest in the construction of novel scanning probe instruments. Most recently, a hybrid scanning near field optical microscope (SNOM)- scanning tunnelling microscope (STM), based on imaging using indium tin oxide-coated fibreoptic tips, has been developed in the group.

For more details see the Nanoscience Group website.

Current Teaching

F31ST1 Thermal and Kinetic Physics 

F32SMS Applications of Fourier Analysis

F31YL1 Practical Physics (Year 1 Error Analysis lectures)

F34NIN Introduction to Nanotechnology

F34CHA Physical Characterisation of Nanostructures