Physics MRes
Join one of our leading physics research groups tackling a research project of technological or fundamental importance.
Feed your curiosity and knowledge
Join one of our leading physics research groups and develop state-of-the-art research skills and knowledge. You'll tackle a research project of technological or fundamental importance.
As well as feeding your curiosity and knowledge, you'll develop a broad range of in-demand technical skills. These will prepare you for your future career in academia, industry or business.
Your topic of study will be either experimental or theoretical in nature.
- 60 credits of taught material, covering advanced knowledge and training skills
- 120 credit research project in your preferred research area
Develop expert skills
We'll provide expert training. You'll develop expert skills needed to tackle a contemporary problem in this field.
Depending on your research topic/project, these skills may involve:
- fabricating and characterising novel materials
- advanced programming
- using high-performance computing facilities
You'll become part of a thriving research group. This will provide a wider environment for networking, group activities and seminars.
You'll be under the close supervision and training of one of our expert academics.
Outstanding student experience
The School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics offers an outstanding postgraduate experience. We received a very high score of 90% for overall satisfaction in the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2019. We also have one of the highest completion rates.
You'll also have access to state-of-the-art research facilities. This includes:
- high-performance computers
- clean-room facilities
- advanced experimental instrumentation
Your Physics MRes project
Your physics research project comprises the major element of the course. It will represent a completely original contribution to the field.
This project will involve two semesters of research in your area of physics research. You'll take advanced modules to provide you with the knowledge required for your project.
The extended project will provide excellent opportunities for independent learning and critical thinking. The initial modules train and encourage you to take ownership of your own learning.
You'll select a topic/project from the list below. Projects are either experimental or theoretical.
Experimental themes
PhotonicsThe mastery of the photon and its application has become one of the most important innovation drivers for modern society and its economy.
Successful candidates will pursue a research programme in one of the fields of:
- quantum optics
- nonlinear photonics
- material’s science
- fundamental physics
The work will be undertaken in a world-class photonics laboratory with facilities and lasers that are at the cutting edge of research.
Graphene is just one of a whole class of 2D materials characterised by being only one atom thick.
One property of 2D materials is that they are literally all surface! This makes them ideally suited to us as sensors elements:
- gas sensors
- strain sensors
- electrochemical sensors
We are interested in sensor applications for 2D materials. From research into the mechanism of transduction all the way to solving real-world problems such as infrastructure monitoring and health.
We have shown recently that the structure and geometry of nanostructured contacts can enhance electrical conductivity of metal semiconductor junctions compared to standard contacts (see paper with Digital Object Identifier: 10.1021/acsami.7b06595).
In this project you will characterise the electrical and physical characteristics of these nanostructured contacts using electron microscope and image analysis. This will enable several applications in low temperature electronics, device technology and energy conversion.
The government undertakes little monitoring of the North Sea even though there are many mammals (dolphins, whales etc) and other animals who might be affected by plastic pollution and run-off from farm fertilisers.
Activists and agencies lack sufficient resources as current monitoring technology is very expensive.
This project will investigate the possibility of using digital prototyping (eg specialist 3D printing materials to modify commercial electronics) for use as low-cost environmental sensors via field trials in collaboration with local partners.
Theoretical themes
Materials modelling from first principlesReliable theoretical prediction of the properties of materials is of huge importance in the modern world.
Our group employs sophisticated methods and algorithms to model materials based on the fundamental equations of quantum mechanics. We aim to predict such properties without empirical input.
This is a rapidly changing and exciting field of research. This is due to given continually improving methods and ever more powerful supercomputers. Furthermore, skills obtained in numerical analysis and computational physics are highly transferable.
Projects are available in both methodological development and the application of methods.
Hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic behaviour underpins the world around us, such as:
- the ocean and atmosphere
- planets and stars
- the interstellar medium and galaxy clusters
Particular topics of interest in our group include:
- planetary dynamos
- geomagnetic field reversals
- magnetic torques in accretion discs binary stars
- galactic dynamos
- interstellar turbulence
- magnetic Taylor–Couette flow
These topics are tackled with state-of-the-art computational simulations and mathematical techniques and link to the latest observational data.
Quantum fluids, such as superfluid helium and atomic Bose-Einstein condensates, have remarkable properties. They are free from viscosity and any vortices in the fluid are constrained by quantum mechanics to have the same size and strength.
These fluids thus embody a prototype fluid in which to explore the dynamics of vortices and waves, including the challenging problem of turbulent flow.
Our group employ analytic and cutting-edge numerical models to study the dynamics of these curious fluids.
This research area aims to explain how the big bang and black holes work. It employs ideas from fundamental quantum mechanics and black holes to try and understand:
- how the universe began
- how matter was created
- how large scale structures formed
The past decade has produced a wealth of observational data about the universe that can be used to test the theories. Projects in this area will combine basic theory with numerical problem solving.
We live in a quantum era. The quantum mechanical properties of matter and light are being probed and tested to unprecedented levels. They are exploited in quantum technologies such as precision sensors and quantum computers.
Topics of interest to our group include:
- interferometry and precision sensing with matter-waves
- single-electron electronics
- quantum transport
We are working to develop new models and predictions of these systems. We work with leading experimental groups to help interpret their latest findings.
Metamaterials (artificial electromagnetic media) can provide full control of light-matter interactions by arbitrarily tailoring the electromagnetic response of matter.
They can be applied at different frequency ranges such as:
- acoustics
- microwave
- Terahertz
- optics
They offer great opportunities in applications such as:
- levitation
- invisibility cloaking
- plasmonics
- quasi-optical devices
Our group is focused on the theoretical and numerical study of metamaterials and metasurfaces (2D version) from their basic principles and their applications to spatial manipulation of wave propagation.