The Department of Physics

World-leading researchadvancing the frontiers of technology

inspiring the next generation of physicists

our facilities include State-of-the-art nuclear physics detector testing

and development laboratories

The £8m York JEOL Nanocentre, which brings together expertise from the Departments of Physics, Chemistry and Electronics, and has world-class facilities for nanoscale fabrication and analysis, incorporating a flagship high-resolution electron microsope

The York Plasma Institute, created through a £6m investment by the University and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

High performance computing: several departmental cluster computers for research and one dedicated to teaching; extensive time allocated on the national academic supercomputer.

a phd student working on the infrared microscope at soleil, the french national synchrotron facility

Welcome to the Department of Physics, a department at the forefront of pioneering global research and technological advancement in areas such as plasma physics and

fusion, nuclear physics and condensed matter physics. Our renowned research groups play a leading role on the national and international stage, collaborating with major institutions and industries.

Our research encompasses the theoretical and the experimental; we seek to advance understanding of fundamental physics and underpin future technology. Our interests are increasingly interdisciplinary, bringing together the expertise of physics with related science disciplines and mathematics to tackle the challenges of the future.

We fully embrace the University of York’s commitment to excellence, internationalisation, inclusivity and sustainability in our research and teaching.

York physicists are leading members of the national and international physics community. We have close research partnerships in more than 20 countries, with over 70 different international partners, including Zhejiang University in China with whom we are working on plasma fusion science. We help shape national and international science policy, holding key positions on influential bodies including the €10bn multinational nuclear fusion project, ITER, and the UK Research Council Strategic Advisory Teams. We serve on committees advising on and allocating research funding and facilities in the UK, Europe, USA, Australia and Asia.

As the UK’s first Science City, York provides a local infrastructure from which we are able to develop partnerships with industry and foster new start‑up businesses.

We offer a wide range of exciting undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes and pride ourselves on the engagement of our students in the Department. We encourage them to get involved with our activities such as research and outreach – helping them develop the professional skills to make them highly employable graduates.

Our teaching facilities have been greatly enhanced with a new Astrocampus for astrophysics teaching and a supercomputer for theoretical physics, as well as refurbishment of the undergraduate experimental laboratory.

We are passionate about communicating science to the public and especially in inspiring the next generation of scientists. We work closely with professional bodies, the York‑based National Science Learning Centre, the local community and other educators to deliver an energetic outreach programme, engaging with thousands of schoolchildren and members of the public each year.

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“York physicists are leading members of the national and international physics community and are also passionate about inspiring the next generation of students”

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CONTENTSWorld-leading research in a dynamic environment 4

Our research areas • Condensed matter physics 7 • Nuclear physics 8 • Plasma physics and fusion 9

Teaching excellence 10

Inspiring tomorrow’s scientists 11

Firmly committed to equality and diversity, we are proud of our Juno Champion status from the Institute of Physics in recognition of our action to address the under‑representation of women in physics.

Whether you are a potential academic or industrial partner, a prospective student, a science funding institution or other professional body – or simply have an interest in physics – I warmly welcome you to our Department.

professor sarah thompson head of department

WORLD-LEaDINg RESEaRCH IN a DYNamIC ENvIRONmENT

Our research groups are nationally and internationally renowned, with each group regularly publishing papers in leading journals and presenting papers at international conferences. We have many collaborations with other research groups in the UK and abroad, and with industries ranging from Seagate Technology and Western Digital to HP, Accelrys and Intel.

Staff in our Department are instrumental in shaping national and international science policy, holding key positions on influential bodies such as ITER (the multinational nuclear fusion project), OECD Global Science Forum, NuPECC (Expert Committee of the European Science Foundation

overseeing the development of nuclear physics in Europe) and UK Research Council Strategic Advisory Teams. Many of them are also Fellows of professional bodies such as the Royal Society, Institute of Physics and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

our research is in three major areas: Condensed matter physics

Nuclear physics

Plasma physics and fusion.

These combine both experimental and theoretical expertise, and cover a wide range of topics in modern physics research.

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understanding the mysteries of the universe and the laws that govern them is at the heart of what drives our passion for research in the department of physics. our ambition is to be at the forefront of uncovering more of that understanding.

research degreesTraining future researchers is of great importance to us, and crucially contributes to the UK economy. Our postgraduate degrees involve intensive research within one of our research groups under expert supervision, with a full programme of related skills and academic training to support the research. Our taught degrees also include research projects undertaken within our research groups.

The EPSRC‑sponsored Fusion Doctoral Training Network is based in the Department. This is a collaboration of universities and government research institutes that integrates postgraduate training in fusion science and technology with related disciplines such as technological plasmas.

our research – key facts research funded by uk research

councils, the eu, the royal society, uk charities and industry

research collaborations with over 100 institutions and companies across the world (many via the Worldwide universities network)

over 80 postgraduate students carrying out research in the department.

international research success the most recent research

assessment exercise (rae 2008) recognised the department’s strength across its research groups, with 55 per cent of its submission judged by an independent panel to be of internationally excellent or of internationally leading quality, and 90 per cent achieving international recognition.

the department’s success contributed to the university of york’s continuing strong performance in the rae, in which it was ranked eighth out of 159 higher education institutions in the uk.

a phd student working in the laser laboratory

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“Interdisciplinarity is of increasing importance for scientists. I am currently working with Dr Marjan van der Woude, from York’s Centre for Immunology and Infection, to study how low temperature plasmas can be used to sterilise bacteria-infested surfaces”

Dr Roddy Vann, Lecturer

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the york Model of exchange BiasUniversity of York research on exchange bias – the complex interaction between an antiferromagnetic material in contact with a ferromagnetic material – has had global impact.

It has enabled companies who develop read heads of hard drives, such as Seagate and Western Digital, to design antiferromagnetic materials using accurate physics research.

The EU-funded research team, led by Professor Kevin O’grady, studied the role of grain size within the thin film of one magnetic layer and used high-resolution electron microscopy in the York JEOL Nanocentre to measure the grain size distributions to high accuracy.

This involved measuring over 800 grains per sample. The results showed that the smaller grains within the antiferromagnetic films were not thermally stable and that the bigger grains were too large to align with the ferromagnet. By knowing the grain size distribution accurately, the research team was then able to calculate the magnitude of the exchange bias in agreement with their experimental data.

This work is now used in the production of hard drives across the world. It has led to the filing of a patent on a new form of magnetic memory, and a world record for York for the magnitude of this effect.

a phd student working with a plasma beam for the deposition of magnetic thin films6

OUR RESEaRCH aREaS

condensed Matter physicsThis group studies many aspects of the fundamental physics of matter at the atomic scale, including nanostructures, surfaces, interfaces, crystals and biological structures. The aim is to uncover how complex processes and structures in matter arise from simple underlying laws and to develop new applications for future technologies. Industrial collaborators include Seagate Technology, Western Digital, HP and Accelrys.

The group’s expertise and facilities cover a wide range of

Multiscale Modelling of femtosecond spin dynamics (feMtospin) Professor Roy Chantrell and Dr Irene D’Amico are leading this €4m EU‑funded project, which aims to develop understanding of the underlying physics behind ultrafast magnetic processes applicable to data processing and storage technologies.

With Seagate Technology as their industrial partner, the York team is working with world‑leading research groups in Uppsala, Konstanz, Madrid and Budapest to develop new theoretical models using multi‑scale computer simulations, while state‑of‑the‑art experiments in Nijmegen, Berlin and Oxford will provide a detailed and challenging test of the model predictions.

schematic of ultrafast magnetic reversal using thin films of a metal alloy and ultrafast heating with a laser

experimental and theoretical areas. These include many characterisation and analytical techniques (including the world‑class microscopy facilities available in the York JEOL Nanocentre), advanced growth and fabrication facilities, and powerful theoretical and computational techniques for studying and simulating electrons and atoms in matter on different length‑scales. The group is one of the founding nodes of the European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility, for which it co‑ordinated a €4m EU e‑infrastructure project.

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a phd student working on the double aberration corrected transmission electron

microscope in the york Jeol nanocentre

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dr christian diget has received the institute of physics astroparticle physics group early career award for his work in leading several international collaborations in nuclear astrophysics

nuclear physicsNuclear physics is the study of the heavy but tiny nucleus that lies at the centre of all atoms and makes up 99.9 per cent by weight of everything we see. It is a large area of research covering many topics. Research at York concentrates on four aspects: probing fundamental symmetries;

“From understanding the nuclear reactions that power exploding stars, through producing bizarre nuclei not found in nature, to developing new radiation detection systems for medical imaging, the group is at the forefront of international nuclear physics research”

Professor Bob Wadsworth, Head of Nuclear Physics group

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diamond detectorsA team of York physicists, led by Professor Mike Bentley, in collaboration with the University of Surrey, are using large‑area pieces of industrially ‘grown’ diamond as part of a £1m international nuclear physics research project, a detector system for the international future FAIR nuclear physics facility in Darmstadt, Germany.

The project aims to identify exotic particles created in nuclear reactions, and one of the research team’s challenging tasks is to design a detector

capable of measuring the time it takes for one of these particles to pass between two specific points – requiring a measurement precision of about 50 pico‑seconds (one pico‑second is one millionth of one millionth of a second). Diamond is ideal for this, as detectors fabricated using diamond are known to respond very quickly when particles pass through them, and this fast response makes it ideal for use as a high‑precision timing detector.

shapes and collectivity in exotic nuclei through high‑resolution gamma‑ray spectroscopy with stable and radioactive beams; the exploration of nuclear shape evolution and shape coexistence through Coulomb excitation; lifetime and conversion electron measurements

and radiative capture studies and the investigation of reaction rates of key astrophysical interest in nucleosynthesis. Extensive use is made of international facilities in France, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, the USA and Canada.

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“A key mission of the York Plasma Institute is to engage with industry and identify projects of mutual benefit. A great example is our current collaboration with Intel, studying how we can improve the efficiency of their manufacturing process”

Professor Timo Gans, York Plasma Institute

researchers in the plasma physics and fusion group control a fusion experiment through the remote tokamak control room

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plasMa physics and fusionThis group is engaged in research related to laser‑produced plasmas, fusion energy and low‑temperature plasmas for technological and medical applications.

The York Plasma Institute is a world‑leading interdisciplinary institute covering fundamental plasma science, fusion energy and applications, including industrial collaborations.

Our fusion energy research explores magnetic confinement fusion, especially plasma physics issues of relevance to the international ITER tokamak (the device that confines the high‑temperature plasma required for fusion). Our innovative Remote Tokamak Control Room is a unique facility enabling remote control of fusion experiments.

We also have a substantial inertial confinement fusion programme. Lasers are also used to simulate the extreme conditions in astrophysical and solar plasmas.

Fusion offers the promise of plentiful, safe, environmentally friendly energy. To produce fusion energy we must recreate the extreme conditions at the Sun’s core but on a much smaller scale.

York Plasma Institute scientists play a leading role in the ITER project – the construction of the world’s largest, most advanced tokamak, located in the south of France, at a cost of over €10bn – involving scientists from across the world. Once complete, it will begin to answer the final scientific and technological questions required for construction of a fusion power station.

Research at the York Plasma Institute is tackling some key questions, in particular attempting to understand the series of plasma eruptions called ELms (edge-localised modes). This joint research with scientists at the UK’s Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), involves massive computer simulations on the world’s largest supercomputers and experiments on maST (the UK’s national experimental device at CCFE), using our remote tokamak control room. York scientists co-ordinate ELm physics research across all of the ITER partners; York Plasma Institute Director Professor Howard Wilson has chaired the international group of plasma physics experts in this area.

fusion and the york plasma institute

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ccfe collaborator working on the joint york/ccfe thomson scattering upgrade at Mast

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“I really enjoyed my time studying in York. All the staff in the Department were very open; you could always go and chat and they were supportive in helping you apply for jobs. I immediately found a job in Government at the Home Office”

Tomas, BSc Physics with Philosophy 2005, PhD 2009 – Scientist, Centre for Applied Science and Technology, the Home Office

at york, we offer a wide range of flexible degree courses and our undergraduates and postgraduates benefit from being taught by specialists at the cutting edge of their fields of research.

In the 2011 Periodic Review of teaching, the Department of Physics was praised for “the high level of student engagement and enthusiasm within both taught and research programmes, their affirmation of the Department and the effectiveness of supervisory arrangements.”

Our teaching received the maximum 24 marks out of 24 from QAA (the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education).

“It is one of my greatest pleasures to see my students grow in confidence and understanding of physics as they progress through their degree programmes”

Dr Yvette Hancock, Lecturer

TEaCHINg ExCELLENCE

We pride ourselves on the friendliness and approachability of all our staff. This is one of the factors contributing to high student satisfaction (88 per cent overall student satisfaction in National Student Survey 2011).

This was also demonstrated when the Department picked up three Vice‑Chancellor’s Teaching Awards in 2011. With input from the students themselves, the awards recognise staff (individuals, teams and teaching postgraduates and research fellows) who demonstrate excellence in teaching and/or learning support. Many of our undergraduates gain valuable physics

research experience on summer placements, with some students travelling abroad for placements with institutions such as CERN and Hokkaido University in Japan.

For information on our range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses, please visit our website at: www.york.ac.uk/physics.

a stepping stone to great careersPhysics graduates from York are particularly successful at achieving rewarding careers. Within six months of graduating, 80 per cent of our graduates go on to graduate‑level employment or further study, the third highest of all UK universities.

While many graduates follow careers that use their knowledge and expertise in physics, others are readily employed in other areas such as computing, management, accountancy, law and engineering.

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dr irene d’amico giving a tutorial

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The Department of Physics recognises the value of communicating science to the wider public and in encouraging the next generation of young scientists. Public engagement is therefore an important and integral part of our work. Over the last couple of years, we have run outreach events which have interacted with thousands of school pupils and members of the public.

INSPIRINg TOmORROW’S SCIENTISTS

“Outreach is particularly strong here in the Department of Physics at York and we are keen to do even more. I think it’s vital for the public to understand the importance of physics and its impact on society”

Dr David Jenkins, Reader

The development of the Department’s Astrocampus will enable school pupils to visit for hands‑on astronomy activities.

Our Cosmodome (an inflatable planetarium) has attracted over 1,000 visitors in its first year of use at events run by the Yorkshire Museum.

We also have an active programme of evening lectures organised through the Institute of Physics’ Yorkshire branch and we regularly provide speakers for the well‑attended programme in York run by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society.

these events include: Hands‑on workshops and

residential programmes for the 11–16 age group, many of which are organised via the Excellence Hub for Yorkshire and Humber

World of Physics – an annual two‑day event for 300 local school students supported by four Yorkshire universities

‘Discover Astronomy’ public event featuring a talk by Dr Marek Kukula of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich and night sky observation with the York Astronomical Society

Touring the Sun Dome (an inflatable theatre for teaching about fusion) around local primary schools.

Background image taken from within our cosmodome planetarium

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With thanks to Dr Koki Imada and other staff from the Department of Physics who have provided photographs

+44 (0)1904 320000 www.york.ac.ukuniversity of york, heslington, york yo10 5dd

Head of Department Professor Sarah Thompson +44 (0)1904 322234 sarah.thompson@york.ac.uk

For general enquiries +44 (0)1904 322201 (Departmental administrator)

For undergraduate admissions +44 (0)1904 322241 physics-undergraduate- admissions@york.ac.uk

For postgraduate admissions +44 (0)1904 322236 phys-grad-admin@york.ac.uk

www.york.ac.uk/physics

DEPaRTmENT OF PHYSICS

Design: balldesignconsultancy.com

Cover image: maST tokamak plasma at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) during an edge-localised mode. York and CCFE collaborate in both theory and experiment to study this potentially damaging instability. Image courtesy of CCFE