RESEARCH PROFILE
- Current number of academic staff: 30.
- Current number of postdoctoral research staff: 19.
- Current number of research students: 35 PhD.
- Current research projects:
- Ab initio modelling of biomolecules and nanostructures.
- Plasmonics and Nanophotonics.
- Functional Nanoparticles.
- New techniques for biological cell imaging.
- Single molecule biophysics.
- Smart X-ray optics.
- Early universe cosmology.
- LHC pheneomenology.
- Partner organisations: Our research groups enjoy strong collaborations with institutions around the world including Athens, Cambridge, CERN, Geneva, Imperial College, Jena, McGill, Nottingham, Oxford, Paris 6, Shanghai, Texas Tech, Trieste, Valencia, UCL and ETH Zurich.
- Joint PhDs available: Exciting opportunities to gain a joint PhD with Hong Kong University
KEY FACTS
Student destinations
Postdoctoral research, industrial research, university lecturer, finance, publishing.
Head of group/division
Professor David Richards
Duration
Expected to be three years FT, four-six years PT. Start usually September.
Location
Strand Campus.
Year of entry 2013
Offered by
School of Natural and Mathematical Sciences
Department of Physics
Closing date
No deadline for applications. Students interested in applying to funding should be aware that deadlines for this differ, therefore applicants should view the Graduate Funding Pages at
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources/index.aspx for more information.
Approximately 10.
Fees
CONTACTS
Contact information
Postgraduate Officer, Centre for Arts & Sciences Admissions (CASA)
tel: +44 (0) 20 7848 2555 / 7208
fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 7200
Email
Website
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION
The Department has a distinguished history, with the study of Physics at King's College dating back to its foundation in 1829. The first Professor was Sir Charles Wheatstone, with other former professors including James Clerk Maxwell, who discovered the unified equations of electromagnetism while at King's, and four Nobel laureates. The seminal x-ray crystallography work by Wilkins and Franklin which led to the discovery of the structure of DNA, was performed in the Physics Department. The department today has a reputation as a friendly and supportive environment, with research in the department encompassing biophysics, materials science, nanotechnology, and theoretical particle physics and cosmology.
The Department has recently appointed international research leaders to head its three research groups: Professor John Ellis FRS, who has joined King's from CERN to lead the Theoretical Particle Physics & Cosmology Group; Professor Mark van Schilfgaarde, an expert in electronic structure theory, who heads the Materials & Molecular Modelling Group; and Professor Anatoly Zayats, a world-leader in the new field of plasmonics, who leads the Experimental Biophysics & Nantotechnology Group. Activities in biophysics enjoy strong links with the Randall Division for Cell and Molecular Biophysics in the School of Biomedical Sciences, and the molecular and materials modelling group is part of the London-based Thomas Young Centre for Theory and Simulations of Materials. Research in theoretical physics and cosmology has a particular focus on the interdisciplinary area of astro-particle physics and on LHC phenomenology, with strong links to CERN through an ERC Advanced Investigator Grant held by Prof Ellis.
Joint PhD programme
Exciting opportunities are now available to undertake a joint PhD programme with Hong Kong University or as part of the Erasmus Mundus scheme.
Staff interests associated with the research programme and its research groups
Interests:
Research interests: nano-optics; photonic networks; lasing; nanophotonics and plasmonics; quantum optics and quantum plasmonics; nonlinear optics and spectroscopy; disordered media; collective and critical phenomena; photonic crystals; nano-antennas; nano-structured metals; optical properties of low-dimensional structures.
Current research: complex photonic networks; unconventional lasing; hybrid plasmonic-photonic systems; quantum plasmonics; Anderson localisation.
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Experimental Biophysics & Nanotechnology
Interests:
Research interests: novel x-ray sources, including microfocus, laser-plasma, transition radiation and high-harmonic generation through extreme non-linear processes; diffractive and reflective x-ray optics and their combinations, including multilayers and adaptive systems; applications of x-rays in radiobiology, cultural heritage and the materials and environmental sciences; the development of cosmic-ray detectors.
Current research: studies of radiation-induced cancers; microspectroscopy of wood-based materials aimed at reducing the environmental impact of their production; studies of wood-based cultural heritage objects for conservation, preservation and restoration; understanding the origins of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays using detectors based in local schools.
Tel:
020 7848 2811
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020 7848 2420
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Interests:
Research interests: near-field and nano- optics; scanning probe microscopy; nanophotonics and plasmonics; nonlinear optics and spectroscopy; surface plasmons and polaritons; nanostructured metals; optical properties of surfaces, thin films, semiconductors and low-dimensional structures.
Current research: active plasmonic devices and nonlinear metamaterials, plasmonic nanophotonics, nonlinear nano-optics, quantum plasmonics, bio- and chemical sensing with plasmonics.
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Research interests: nanophotonics and plasmonics; surface enhanced fluorescence and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS); scanning probe microscopy; fluorescence microscopy; coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy; cell and tissue imaging.
Current research: understanding and exploiting the enhancement of fluorescence emission and decay with plasmonic nanostructures; single molecule imaging; the development of CARS microscopy and its application to cells and tissue.
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020 7848 2753
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020 7848 2420
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Interests:
Research interests: nano- optics; non-linear optics; ultrafast optical spectroscopy; scanning probe microscopy; nanoscale materials; hybrid materials; excitonic materials; plasmonics.
Current research: active plasmonics, nonlinear nano-optics, ultrafast nano-optics, near-field optics.
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020 7848 2573
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Research interests: fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM), time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy imaging (tr-FAIM), fluorescence spectroscopy, time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC), photon counting imaging
Current research: diffusion studies of labelled drugs and proteins in cells using FRAP and tr-FAIM, FLIM and FAIM of fluorescent molecular rotors, imaging of nanoparticles in cells, photon counting imaging with an image intensifer or an electron-bombarded CCD
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Organometallic based synthesis of semiconductorand metal nanoparticles, biological applications of nanomaterials, rare-earth based nanomaterials
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020 7848 2121
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020 7848 2420
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Research interests: Miniaturisation and integration of biological materials into technical systems; scanning-probe techniques beyond topographic imaging; physical properties of biological materials; biocompatible micro- and nanopatterning.
Current research: Miniaturisation by microdroplets; mechanics of protein fibrils; electrical force microscopy.
Tel:
020 7848 2592, 020 7848 2241
Fax:
020 7848 2932
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Interests:
Research interests: nano-optics; photonic networks; lasing; nanophotonics and plasmonics; quantum optics and quantum plasmonics; nonlinear optics and spectroscopy; disordered media; collective and critical phenomena; photonic crystals; nano-antennas; nano-structured metals; optical properties of low-dimensional structures.
Current research: complex photonic networks; unconventional lasing; hybrid plasmonic-photonic systems; quantum plasmonics; Anderson localisation.
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Research interests: nanoparticles and nanocomposite materials; sintering of nanoparticle materials; electronic materials for interconnections in harsh environments; solder materials; adhesives; electromigration; rheology; transition metal oxide materials and their use as diodes and radiaton detectors.
Current research: reactive micro- and nano- scale particles for modifying chemical properties of solders; electromigration in thin films; sintering of Cu and Ag nanoparticles.
Tel:
020 7848 1780
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020 7848 2932
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Interests:
Research interests: scanning probe microscopy; single molecules; single molecule force spectroscopy; force-clamp spectroscopy, biophysics; protein folding; mechanochemistry; lipid bilayers; surface science; nanomechanics; thin films; wetting.
Current research: conformational dynamics of single molecules under force; protein folding; single molecule force-clamp spectroscopy; protein folding; the effect of a mechanical force on the energy landscape of a chemical reaction at the single bond level; nanomechanics of lipid bilayers; tribology.
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020 7848 7106
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Interests:
Research interests: Colloids and Surface Science, Emulsion science and technology, Polymerisation in aqueous media, Nanoparticles, Drug delivery, and Microfluidics.
Current research: Polymeric and hybrid nanoparticles, Core-shell particles, Nanoemulsions, Multiple emulsions, and Microfluidic generation of uniform complex drops and particles.
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Materials and Molecular Modelling
Interests:
Ab initio modelling of self-assembled nanostructures, nanomechanics and bioactivity of materials interfaces, and the development of new methods.
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Interests:
Impurities and other atomic-sized defects in semiconductor materials (diamond, silicon, and SiGe alloys ). Computer modelling of their properties and structure using ab initio or more approximate computational techniques.
Tel:
020 7848 2044
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020 7848 2420
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Quantum mechanical modelling of nanomaterials and biomolecules. I am a theoretical condensed matter physicist: my research activity consists in designing computer experiments to elucidate and predict complex processes in materials and biomolecules, by accurately calculating, with the aid of powerful computers, how atoms interact, rearrange and react to external stimuli, such as pressure and light. The precise understanding of the microscopic properties of matter, governed by the laws of quantum-mechanics, is of paramount importance in the emerging field of bio-nanotechnology, for the exploitation and design of innovative materials. In my simulations, to achieve the level of accuracy required to describe chemical bonds, I use density-functional-theory (DFT), a modern reformulation of quantum-mechanics, appropriate for large scale accurate calculations. Thanks to its favourable ratio between accuracy and computational cost, it is a successful technique for describing structural and electronic properties of systems of physical, chemical, materials science and even biological interest. Its importance has been recognized by the award of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to its founder, Walter Kohn. I have pioneered some of the latest technical advances in the treatment of metals, excited states and high pressure conditions, pushing the frontiers of DFT calculations in new directions. DFT is an ab-initio method, which needs as input parameters only a statement of which atoms are involved in the system; it is therefore very versatile and can be applied to a wide range of materials, from polymers through semiconductors and metals to biological systems, all of which are represented in my research.
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020 7848 2170
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020 7848 2170
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Computer modelling of molecular-scale interfacial behaviour in biology and nanotechnology.
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My research is dedicated to the application of computational modeling to currently outstanding problems in materials science, using both classical and quantum mechanical descriptions of the microscopic atomistic behavior. My goal is to apply the computational tools to address environmental-challenges, such as chemical reactions leading ozone depletion, hydrogen storage in solid materials and fuel cell chemistry.
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020 7848 2152
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020 7848 2420
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Interests:
Ab initio (using mainly density functional theory) and classical modelling of scanning-probe microscopy techniques with atomic resolution (STM and AFM); topography and dissipation in atomic force microscopy; hybrid quantum-mechanical methods in treating very large (mainly biological) systems, chemical reactions and adsorption on surfaces; quantum-mechanical embedding; phonons calculations; manipulation of atoms and molecules using AFM/STM tips; non-equilibrium statistical mechanics; theory of defects in solids; Generalised Langevin Equation; Kinetic Monte Carlo
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020 7848 2160
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020 7848 2420
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Computer modelling of complex materials and biological systems.
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Professor van Schilfgaarde's research interests are centered around the theory of electronic structure - which is the key to understanding properties of materials at their most fundamental level, most notably the Quasiparticle Self-Consistent GW approximation.
Materials he has studied span a wide range: in recent years they include chalcopyrite semiconductors for solar cell applications; members of the new class of Fe-based superconductors; graphene. Other research areas concerns the ab initio treatment of magnetism, most recently exchange interactions and transport in dilute magnetic semiconductors, and Green's function techniques for quantum transport in nanostructures such as Fe/MgO/Fe tunnel junctions, and spin transport phenomena. He is coauthor in over 170 publications.
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+44 (0)20 7848 7245
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Interests:
1) First-principles modelling of electronic and thermal transport in complex materials and nanoscale devices for nanoelectronic and thermoelectric applications.
2) Properties of graphitic materials
3) Spectroscopic characterization of materials
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+44 (0)20 7848 7148
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Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of condensed phases with applications ranging from Biology via Geochemistry to Materials Science. Particular focus points are the simulation of light-induced processes and the calculation of free energy landscapes for rare events.
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Theoretical Physics and Cosmology
Interests:
- Physics with the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider
- High energy particle physics and cosmology
- The phenomenological consequences of string/M theory
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+44 (0)20 7848 2156
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Interests:
An important part of my work deals with functional methods in Quantum Field Theory (Scwhinger-Dyson equations, Exact Renormalizarion equations and alternatives, ... ), applied to different areas of High Energy Theory, including Particle Physics, Strings, Cosmology. I have also used Quantum Field Theory for the effective description of High Temperature Superconductivity.
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020 7848 2429
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020 7848 2420
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My primary research is particle physics beyond the Standard Model, but I also stray into related areas of high-energy astrophysics and cosmology.
Within particle physics, I am particularly interested in predictions for collider experiments and the interpretation of their results, and my interests in astrophysics and cosmology include dark matter and strategies to detect it, as well as dark energy and cosmological inflation.
Specific research topics include the Higgs boson (or whatever replaces it), searches for it at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and its possible connections with matter-antimatter asymmetry and the generation of matter in the Universe. Much of my research concerns supersymmetry, which I consider to be one of the most promising possible extensions of the Standard Model, and I am working actively on searches for supersymmetric particles at the LHC and as astrophysical dark matter.
I am also interested in models of quantum gravity, particularly those derived from string theory, and am in quest of possible experimental probes of such models, either in accelerator experiments or in high-energy astrophysics and cosmology
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Early universe cosmology in the framework of local field theories, strings and branes; loop quantum gravity and loop quantum cosmology; brane interactions; modified theories of gravity; phenomenology of inflation and quantum gravity; theory and phenomenology of defects and their string theory versions; phenomenology of the dark sector of the universe.
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020 7848 1535
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020 7848 2420
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I work at the intersection of particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology.
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Interests:
Low dimensional systems (including superconductors), with emphasis on understanding strong correlations, and in exploiting the similarities of the underlying quantum field theory to elementary particle physics; models for (stringy) quantum gravity, in which the gravitational interactions behave like a stochastic medium; consequences for matter propagation in the context of current and future experimental facilities, both terrestrial and astrophysical; development and study of world-sheet logarithmic conformal field theories, with a wide range of applicability (from models in condensed matter physics to a discussion of recoil of solitonic backgrounds in string theory); Astroparticle phenomenology of Dark Matter and Dark Energy, exotic non-equilibrium Cosmological models, including stringy cosmologies. Supersymmetry Breaking in context of Particle Physics and in low-dimensional Gauge Theories (possibly of relevance to exotic quantum phases in condensed matter).
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020 7848 2168
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Implications for fundamental discrete symmetries in particle physics and cosmology of physics outside the standard model of particle physics; open systems and gravitational dgerees of freedom; conformal field theory of D-particle interactions with stringy matter; exotic quantum phases in field theory models of low dimensional systems
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020 7848 2155
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020 7848 2420
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ACADEMIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
General entry advice
Experimental Biophysics & Nanotechnology: minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in physics or a related subject.
Materials & Molecular Modelling: minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in physics or a related subject.
Theoretical Particle Physics & Cosmology: a distinction or high merit in a master's degree in a relevant subject, we usually also require a first class or high 2:1 Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree (or equivalent). A first class MSci is also acceptable.
Those applying for the joint degree are encouraged to contact an academic at King's to develop research links with the partner institution.
APPLYING TO KING'S
To apply for graduate study at King's you will need to complete our graduate online application form. Applying online makes applying easier and quicker for you, and means we can receive your application faster and more securely.
King's does not normally accept paper copies of the graduate application form as applications must be made online. However, if you are unable to access the online graduate application form, please contact the relevant admissions/School Office at King's for advice.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Your application is assessed by a relevant academic member of staff, and we aim to respond to you within four to six weeks. We interview most students living in the UK, and may hold telephone or email interviews for those overseas.
September, January, and April start dates available. Applicants are strongly encouraged to start their degree at beginning of the academic year in September, when the College offers a full induction programme.
PERSONAL STATEMENT & SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Please specify the area of research that interests you. Note that a detailed research proposal is not necessarily required. You should state at least an area of interest, as precisely as you want, and/or names of potential supervisors.
FUNDING
Studentships (covering living allowances, tuition fees etc) are granted annually by EPSRC to the Department, with further opportunities for EU, STFC, BBSRC and College funded studentships. Available studentships, which arise throughout the year, are displayed on the postgraduate opportunities section of our home page.
Student profiles
Physics Research MPhil/PhD, option of joint PhD with HKU/Erasmus MundusI chose King's because after my master's I got involved in plasmonics and the use of them in information technologies - I found out that here at King's there is a strong group working on it and I decided to join them.
The best thing of studying in King's is that it is situated in the center of London and you have plenty of activities to do, usually you have to measure yourself because if you do all the things there are in theory you won't have time for studying or for sleeping! Also joining a student hall is better than looking for private accommodation, because you have the opportunity to meet other people and participate in even more activities which can also include travels to places outside London.
For my research I was funded by a King's Studentship (King's Overseas Research Studentship) which has helping me a lot during my stay here in London providing me with a stipend for my expenses. After my PhD I would like to join industry as a researcher or start a company in my home country for developing what I have learned here at King's. If you are thinking of coming to here, either as a undergraduate, master's or PhD student, I'm sure you will meet a lot of people and you will do plenty of activities to get the most out of your study program.
Physics Research MPhil/PhD, option of joint PhD with HKU/Erasmus Mundus
I chose to study at King's for its reputation for research excellence in theoretical physics. A close-knit group of research students and a very accessible faculty make King's a unique place to learn and grow. The regular stream of seminars, through an active collaboration with other leading research groups in the country, is a great way to inspire yourself as well as expand your knowledge to areas close to, but not directly related to, your research.
Physics Research MPhil/PhD, option of joint PhD with HKU/Erasmus Mundus
King's is a great place to do your graduate studies at, both as an academic institution and the opportunities it offers once you finish your degree. The Department of Physics has a great history; James Clerk Maxwell was at King's in his most productive years and four members of the staff have been awarded Nobel prizes. King's also has excellent research facilities and very good links to other institutions in the UK and abroad.
King's main campuses are situated on the river bank which is the most beautiful part of London. London is the most exciting and cosmopolitan city in the world. Opportunities in the city are endless, whether one wants to continue in academia, go into banking or any other sector. This is the place to be and having a graduate degree from King's is your ticket to success.