Institute of Physics (IOP) Public Lecture Series

Topic

The SI unit that sets the scale of all of these electrical measurements is the ampere. National metrology labs to ensure a link between the physics that defines the ampere and the chains of calibration which branch out into manufacturing, healthcare and science. The National Physical Laboratory is the UKs standards laboratory and enabling access to primary standards is one of our key roles.

Successive redefinitions of the SI system, the last in 2019, have shaped the SI system around fundamental constants. From atomic clocks in the 1950s to quantum electrical effects in the 1980s, metrology has become a quantum discipline. In the electrical metrology world this has led to trio of quantum effect being found to define voltage, current and resistance. In my work at NPL I initially focussed on one of these, single electron pumping as a pathway to an ampere current standard. Things took an interesting turn when we realised that electrons ejected from our pumps would follow ballistic edge channels like a photon in a waveguide. At this point my focus switched towards creating interferometers with single electrons. I basically moved from "counting electrons" to things like "colliding electrons" in an aim to create a kind of "electron quantum optics" by analogy with work with the physics of photons.

In my talk I will try to give a flavour of what life is like in a metrology lab and explain the how our work on single electron pumps work has evolved over the years, including using our equipment to support up and coming businesses in the quantum technology sector.

Speaker

Dr Jon Fletcher – National Physical Laboratory
Jon was awarded an MSci in Physics from the University of Birmingham in 2001. He was awarded a PhD from the University of Bristol in 2005 for work on experimental probes of unconventional superconductivity and the electronic structure of strongly interacting electronic systems.

This work involved many cryogenic and high field measurement systems and a variety of techniques including thermal and electrical transport, penetration depth measurements and torque magnetometry.

After joining NPL in 2009 he moved from materials physics to work on engineered single-electron systems in semiconductors. Single electron devices are an elegant way to control electricity at its most granular level.

Topic

Medical imaging plays a vital role in diagnosis and treatment, with techniques like ultrasound, MRI, X-ray, and OCT each offering unique insights into the body. A newer technique, photoacoustic imaging, is now emerging as a powerful addition to this toolkit. It works by sending short pulses of laser light into the body, which generate ultrasound waves from within tissues. This combination allows us to harness the rich spectral information provided by light, such as how different tissues absorb different wavelengths, while also benefiting from the 3D imaging capabilities of ultrasound. The result is high-resolution, non-invasive imaging of structures like blood vessels, which are often invisible to conventional methods.

In this talk, Dr Ben Keenlyside will explain the physics behind photoacoustic imaging and show how its applications are being explored in areas ranging from vascular imaging to functional measurements like blood oxygenation. He’ll also explore some of the exciting frontiers in the field, including the development of new detectors and probes, and efforts to push the boundaries of resolution, depth, and imaging speed. These advances are unlocking new capabilities and bringing photoacoustic imaging closer to clinical use.

Speaker

Dr Ben Keenlyside 
Ben first studied physics at the University of Southampton, completing his MPhys in 2018. He then joined University College London as part of the Integrated Photonic and Electronic systems centre for doctoral training During his PhD, completed in 2023, he developed a prototype imaging system capable of performing photoacoustic imaging through a narrow optical fibre. Since joining the Birmingham photoacoustic imaging group later that year as a postdoctoral research fellow, he has explored the use of structured and coherent light to overcome optical scattering and enhance imaging depth and resolution.

Topic

The Sun is one of roughly 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, but did you know that not all the stars in our Galaxy today were born here? In this talk we will find out about the field of Galactic archaeology, investigate how to identify stars eaten by the Milky Way in the past, and see what we can learn about how galaxies form and evolve by studying our Galaxy in detail.

Speaker

Dr Emma Willett
Emma has been in Birmingham just over 10 years, having graduated with an MSci in Physics in 2019 and a PhD in Astrophysics in 2023. Her research is in Galactic Archaeology – the study of the formation and evolution of our Galaxy, the Milky Way, by using populations of stars in it today. She’s now a Teaching Fellow in the School of Physics, supporting undergraduates as the Deputy Senior Tutor, and is responsible for the Outreach and Public Engagement programme across the School.

Topic

Magnetism shapes us – literally. It underlies phenomena across all scales, from elementary particles to the vast structure of the Universe. It also reveals brain activity, traces Earth’s geological evolution and plays a vital role in diagnosing and treating diseases.

Speaker

Dr Mingee Chung
Born and educated in South Korea, Dr Chung embarked on an academic career in Europe following the completion of his PhD. His journey began in France, with appointments in Orsay and Grenoble, before continuing in Switzerland at Lausanne. Since 2017, he has been based in Birmingham UK.

Topic

Understanding the advantages and pitfalls behind quantum technologies with reference to classic dice and board games.

Speaker

Dr Thomas Hird
Thomas Hird obtained his doctorate in Atomic and Laser Physics from the University of Oxford in 2021, having been a member of University College London’s Centre of Doctoral Training in Quantum Technologies.

During his doctorate, Thomas investigated quantum memories in warm atomic vapours for use in Quantum Information Processing and Quantum Networks.

He developed novel techniques to both optimise the atomic-light interactions whilst suppressing the noise, as well as a novel characterisation method of photon statistics to quantify the noise in quantum memories.

Following this, Thomas joined the prestigious AION project within Oxford, developing cold atom interferometry towards the detection of gravitational waves and ultra-light dark matter candidates. Within Oxford, Thomas was further appointed as a lecturer at Corpus Christi College, teaching a wide range of material from the degree course.

In December 2024 Thomas was appointed as an Assistant Professor in Quantum Technologies at the University of Birmingham.

Topic

Although the LHC is scheduled to operate for another 16 years—including an upgrade to the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), which will increase the proton collision rate tenfold—attention is already turning to what comes next. Designing and constructing a new collider is a decades-long endeavour, particularly when it involves unproven or novel technologies.

This talk will present the scientific motivation behind future colliders and provide an overview of the leading proposals to succeed the LHC.

These include:

• The **International Linear Collider (ILC)**, a linear electron–positron collider focused on precision measurements of the Higgs boson;
• The **Future Circular Collider (FCC)** program, which envisions an electron–positron collider followed by a high-energy proton–proton collider in a new 100 km tunnel;
• And the **Muon Collider**, a novel and potentially game-changing concept that combines the precision of electron colliders with the energy reach of proton colliders, albeit with formidable technical challenges.

Speaker

Dr Karol Krizka
Karol Krizka is an Assistant Professor at the University of Birmingham, specialising in high-energy collider physics and instrumentation. He earned his PhD from the University of Chicago, working on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider.

Following his doctorate, he joined the ATLAS group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as a Chamberlain Postdoctoral Fellow, before moving to Birmingham in 2022. Throughout his career, he has made significant technical contributions to both the construction of complex detectors and the analysis of the data they produce.

Currently he is responsible for the assembly of silicon tracking modules in the UK as part of the ATLAS Inner TracKer upgrade. This combination of experimental and analytical expertise fuels his interest in future colliders—particularly the Muon Collider—which represents both the next step in advancing particle physics and a rich frontier in detector innovation.

Topic

Measuring the expansion rate of the universe has been a central quest for scientists. The current measurement disagrees with the prediction for our best model of the universe. In my talk, I will showcase how we can solve this puzzle with current and future telescopes.

Speaker

Dr Suhail Dhawan
Suhail is Assistant Professor and 125^th Anniversary Fellow at the University of Birmingham.Prior to this he was a Marie-Curie Fellow and a Kavli Institute Fellow at the University of Cambridge. His main science interests are in understanding supernovae and using them to measure properties of the universe.