Dr Nikolaos Proukakis
Reader in Superfluids

  • Email: nikolaos.proukakis@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 8832
  • Fax: +44 (0) 191 222 8020
  • Address: School of Mathematics & Statistics
    Newcastle University
    Herschel Building
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 7RU
    United Kingdom

Research Interests: Quantum Fluids & Gases

See: http://research.ncl.ac.uk/quantum-fluids/ for more details

Selected topics of interest:
Bose-Einstein Condensation and Quasi-Condensation; Role of Density & Phase Fluctuations.
Non-Equilibrium Phenomena: Applications to Atom Chips, Atom Lasers & Atom Interferometers
Solitons & Vortices in Quantum Fluids: Analogies with Optical Systems; Quantum Turbulence
Quantum Many-Body Theories; Stochastic Approaches; Numerical Modelling.

 Languages

Fluent: Greek; English; Spanish; German
Basic Understanding: Dutch & French

Research Interests

Quantum Fluids & Gases:
Bose-Einstein Condensation and Quasi-Condensation; Role of Density & Phase Fluctuations.
Non-Equilibrium Phenomena: Applications to Atom Chips, Atom Lasers & Atom Interferometers
Solitons & Vortices in Quantum Fluids: Analogies with Optical Systems; Quantum Turbulence
Quantum Many-Body Theories; Stochastic Approaches; Numerical Modelling.

Postdoctoral Supervision

Dr Stuart Cockburn

Postgraduate Supervision

Ms Joy Allen (Stage 4)
Mr Donatello Gallucci (Stage 3)

Mr Robert Pattinson (Stage 2)

Esteem Indicators

(I) INVITED CONFERENCE TALKS:

Sao Carlos School of Advanced Science (Sao Carlos, Brazil - April 2011)                                                             Ultracold Quantum Gases beyond Equilibrium (Natal, Brazil - Sep 2010)
Nonlinear Waves: Theory and Applications (Beijing, China - July 2010)
Annual Meeting of the UK Cold-Atom / Condensed-Matter Physics Network (Durham, UK - Sep 2009)
Ultracold Matter: Simulation and Modelling (Windsor, UK - August 2009)
LPHYS’09: 18th International Laser Physics Workshop (Barcelona, Spain - July 2009)
Conference on Nonlinear Science and Complexity: (Porto, Portugal - July 2008)
LPHYS’08: 17th International Laser Physics Workshop (Trondheim, Norway - July 2008): Unabel to attend due to PARTNERS Teaching
Non-equilibrium Behaviour in Superfluid Gases at Finite Temperature (Sandbjerg, Denmark - June 2007)
Ruperto Carola Symposion: Ultracold Quantum Gases (Heidelberg, Germany - July 2007)
UK Cold Matter Forum (Durham, UK - Apr 2007 )
LPHYS’06: 15th International Laser Physics Workshop (Lausanne, Switzerland - July 2006)
XXI Greek Condensed Matter & Materials Science Conference (Nicosia, Cyprus - Aug. 2005)
LPHYS'05: 14th International Laser Physics Workshop (Kyoto, Japan - July 2005)
SOLIBEC: Solitons in Bose-Einstein Condensates (Almagro, Spain - Feb 2005)
LPHYS'04: 13th International Laser Physics Workshop (Trieste, Italy - July 2004)
International Workshop on Atomic Physics (Dresden, Germany - Dec 2003)
LPHYS'03: 12th International Laser Physics Workshop (Hamburg, Germany - Aug 2003)
Semiconductor Microstructures and Atom Traps - Bose Condensation in Atomic & Solid State Systems, Institute of Physics (London - Presented Invited Talk of C.S. Adams - May 2003)
XVIII Greek Conference on Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science (Heraklion, Greece - Sep 2002)
LPHYS'02: 11th International Laser Physics Workshop (Bratislava, Slovakia - July 2002)

(II) CONTRIBUTED CONFERENCE TALKS:

DAMOP 2010 (Houston, US - May 2010)
Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute atomic gases and in condensed matter (Lausanne, Switzerland - Jan 2008): Spotlight Presentation
XXIII Greek Condensed Matter & Materials Science Conference (Athens, Greece - Sep 2007)
Mesoscopic Phenomena in Ultracold Matter: From Single Atoms to Coherent Ensembles (Dresden, Germany - Oct 2004)
XX Greek Conference on Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science (Ioannina, Greece - Sep. 2004)
Photon 04, QEP-16: Coherent Atom Manipulation (Glasgow, U.K. - Aug. 2004)
LMS Durham Symposium: Topological Solitons and their Applications (Durham, U.K. - Aug. 2004)
CMMP 04: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics Conference (Warwick, U.K. - Apr. 2004)
QuAMP: Quantum, Atomic, Molecular and Plasma Physics (Milton Keynes, U.K. - Sep. 2003)
QGLD 2003: Quantum Gases in Low Dimensions, Les Houches Ecole de Physique (Les Houches, France - Apr. 2003)
BEC Summer Workshop, European Centre for Theoretical Physics (Trento, Italy - Aug, 2002)
Physics of Ultracold Dilute Atomic Gases Workshop, Benasque Centre for Science (Benasque, Spain - Jun. 2002)

(III) INVITED SEMINARS IN ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS:

School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham (UK - Nov 2010)
School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane (Australia - July 2010)
Department of Physics, University of Toronto (Canada - May 2010)
Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy, Queen’s University, Kingston (Canada - April 2010)
Department of Physics, University of Athens (Greece - March 2010)
Dept. of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, National Technical University of Athens (Greece - March 2010)
Department of Physics, University of Southampton (UK - Feb 2010)
Joint Atomic & Condensed Matter Physics Seminar Series, Universities of Stuttgart, Tuebingen and Ulm (Tuebingen, Germany - Dec 2009)
Department of Physics, University of Nottingham (UK - July 2008)
Department of Physics, University of Durham (UK - Apr 2008)
Department of Physics, University of Crete (Greece - Mar 2008)
School of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, National Technical University of Athens (Greece - Sep 2007)
Theoretical Physical & Chemistry Institute, National Hellenic Research Foundation (Greece - Jan 2007)
The Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford (UK - Jul 2006)
Centre for Cold Matter, Imperial College London (UK - May 2006)
Department of Physics, University of Durham (UK - Feb 2006)
Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Utrecht (The Netherlands - Apr. 2005)
Department of Physics, University of Athens (Greece - Nov. 2004)
Institute of Materials Science, Demokritos (Greece - Nov. 2004)
Department of Physics, University of Ioannina (Greece - Oct. 2004)
The Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge (U.K. - Feb. 2003)
The Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford (U.K. - Nov. 2002)
Department of Physics, University of Crete (Greece - Dec. 2001)
Institute of Electronic Strucutre & Laser, Foundation of Research and Technology Hellas, Crete (Greece - Mar. 1997)

RELATED TALKS / POSTERS BY COLLEAGUES: Over 60 in national/international conferences

(IV) REFEREE FOR SUBMITTED PROPOSALS TO EPSRC AND ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND

(V) REFEREE FOR THE FOLLOWING JOURNALS:
Physics Reports, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review A, Physical Review B, Physical Review E, Europhysics Letters, New Journal of Physics, Journal of Physics A, Journal of Physics B, Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter, Journal of Optics B; Optics Communications; European Physical Journal D; Journal of Low Temperature Physics; International Journal of Modern Physics B; Computers and Simulations in Mathematics.
(Total Number of Articles Reviewd to Date: Over 160).

(VI) CONFERENCE ORGANISATION:
Co-organiser of 'FINESS 2009: Finite Temperature Non-Equilibrium Superfluid Systems workshop' (Durham, UK; 13-17 Sep 2009; massey.dur.ac.uk/finess/). Raised £33,000 for this workshop from various sources.
Member of Local Organising Committee, ‘QUAMP III: Third National Meeting on Quantum, Atomic, Molecular, and Plasma Physics (Collingwood College & Department of Physics, 18-22 Sep 2006 massey.dur.ac.uk/quamp ).

(VII) SESSION CHAIR:
Session Chair, LPHYS'09 (Barcelona, Spain - July 2009)
Chair of Panel Discussion, Non-equilibrium Behavior in Superfluid Gases at Finite Temperature (Sandbjerg, Denmark - Jun 2007)
Chair of the final session, Mesoscopic Phenomena in Ultracold Matter: From Single Atoms to Coherent Ensembles (Dresden, Germany - Oct. 2004)(Organized by J. Brand, P. Schmelcher and K. Burnett)
Co-chair (with N. Davidson) of one of the afternoon sessions
LPHYS'03: 12th International Laser Physics Workshop (Hamburg, Germany - Aug. 2003), Seminar 6: "Physics of Cold Trapped Atoms" (Organized by L.P. Pitaevskii, V.I. Yukalov & E. Zaremba)

(VIII) CITATIONS: Over 600 (Hirsch Index: 14)

(IX) INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE: FINESS 2011 Conference (Heidelberg)

(X) GROUP/NETWORK MEMBERSHIPS:                                                                                                         Member of the EPSRC-funded UK network for research at the interface between cold-atom and condensed matter physics; Local Coordinator for Newcastle Node (EP/G029695/1; Duration: 01/06/09-31/05/12; PI: Prof. M. Fromhold, CoI: Dr. A.S. Arnold)
Member of the committee of the Mathematical and Theoretical Physics Group of the Institute of Physics (since 2009)

(XI) VISITING PROFESSORSHIPS HELD:

Department of Physics, University of Tubingen (Visiting Professor; Germany: June-July 2011)                    Atominstitut, Vienna (Visiting Academic/Professor; Austria: Apr 2011)
School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane (Visiting Academic; Australia: Jul-Aug 2010)
Department of Physics, University of Toronto (Visiting Professor; Canada: May-Jun 2010)
Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy, Queen’s University, Kingston
(Visiting Professor; Canada: Apr-May 2010)
                                                                   

Funding

  • EPSRC Grant EP/F055935/1. Amount: £259,229. Title: 'Ultracold gases far from equilibrium: fluctuations in time-dependent geometries': £259,229; Principal (and Sole) Investigator; Commneced: 1 March 2009
  • EPSRC Grant EP/H018093/1. Amount: £19286. Title: FINESS 2009 (Finite Temperature Non-Equilibrium Superfluid Systems). Co-Investigator (PI: Dr. S.A. Gardiner, Durham University). Commenced: 14 September 2009
  • EPSRC Grant EP/I019413/1. Amount: £338,544. Title: 'Turbulence in quantum gases: setting the framework'. Co-Investigator (Equal split with PI: Prof. C.F. Barenghi). Commences 1 January 2012
  • Roayl Society International Travel Grant, Amount: £1100. June-July 2010

Undergraduate Teaching

Academic Year 2011/12:
Lectures in
MAS1041: Mathematical Methods A (Module Leader & Small Group Tutorial Coordinator)
MAS3121/MAS8121: Variational Methods (Module Leader)

Academic Year 2010/11:
Lectures in
MAS1041: Mathematical Methods A (Module Leader)
MAS3119/MAS4119: Differential Equations, Transform methods & Fields (Module Leader)

Academic Year 2009/10:
Lectures in
MAS1001/MAS2001: Mathematical Methods (Module Leader)
MAS3121/MAS8121: Variational Methods (Module Leader)

Academic Year 2008/9:
Lectures in
MAS1001/MAS2001: Mathematical Methods (Module Leader)
MAS3119/MAS4119: Differential Equations, Transform methods & Fields (Module Leader)

Academic Year 2007/8:
Lectures in
MAS1001/MAS2001: Mathematical Methods (Module Leader)
MAS3101/MAS4101: Variational Methods (Module Leader)

Academic Year 2006/7:
Lectures in:
MAS1001/MAS2001: Mathematical Methods
MAS3101/MAS4101: Variational Methods (Module Leader)
MAS4114/MAs8114: Modern Topics in Applied Mathematics: Superfluids

Academic Year 2005/6:
Lectures in:
MAS209/MAS609: Classical Fields (2Module Leader; 2nd Semester)
MAS427/MAS827: Topics in Modern Applied Mathematics (1st Semester)
Also Tutorials in the following modules:
MAS111: Modelling with Differential Equations
MAS145: Problem-Solving Technique

MASTER STUDENT SUPERVISION / CO-SUPERVISION
D. Rafferty (Mathematical Analysis of Superfluids)
C. Henderson (Atomic Superfluids in Double-Well Traps)
R. Pattinson (Dynamics of Coupled Atomic Superfluids )
N. Kane (Theoretical Modelling of Atomic Superfluids )
C. O’Toole (Controlled Shock Wave Generation in Atomic Superfluids)
D. Jackson (Dark Soliton Dynamics in Trapped Atomic Condensates)
J. Rowell (Dark Solitons in Atomic Superfluids)
A. Lowery (Controlled Shock-wave Generation in Atomic Superfluids)
G. Murray (Topological Defects)