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Find an Expert

Are you looking for an academic to provide expert commentary/analysis for a news story/documentary?

This experts directory is a searchable database of Queen’s academics who are interested in talking to the media about their areas of expertise.

If you cannot find the right expert, please contact Queen’s Communications Office and a member of the team will be able to help you.

Contact the communications team

Photo: Dr Matt Nicholl
Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics

Dr Nicholl's expertise encompasses cosmic explosions and other energetic events associated with massive stars, neutron stars and black holes.

Expertise: Supernova, black hole, kilonova, gamma-ray burst, tidal disruption event, transient, galaxy

Photo: Dr Ryan Milligan
Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics

Dr Milligan is a researcher in solar physics, specialising in solar flares, solar activity, and solar eclipses.

Expertise: Solar flares, Solar eclipses, Solar activity, Sunspots, Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis

Photo: Dr Alastair Ruffell
School of Natural and Built Environment (NBE)

Main area: forensic science, especially the search for human remains in water or buried on land; secondary interest is the appearance of dinosaurs at a time of climate change, 224 million years ago.

Expertise: Geology, geophysics, forensic science, climate change in deep time, location & forensic recovery of human remains

Photo: Professor Jennifer McKinley
School of Natural and Built Environment (NBE)

Professor McKinley’s research has focused on the application of spatial analysis techniques, including geostatistics, compositional data analysis and Geographical Information Science (GIS), to soil geochemistry, environmental and criminal forensics, human health, slope instability, airborne geophysics and weathering studies.

Expertise: Spatial analysis techniques, Geostatistics, Compositional data analysis, Geographical Information Science (GIS), Soil geochemistry, Environmental and criminal forensics, Human health, Slope instability, Airborne geophysics, Weathering studies

Photo: Dr Meg Schwamb
Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics

Dr Schwamb studies the icy bodies in the outer Solar System.

Expertise: Astronomy, planetary science, Solar System, exoplanets, astrophysics, Solar System small bodies

Photo: Professor Stephen Smartt
Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics

Professor Smartt is an astrophysicist specialising in surveying the sky for transient and explosive events.

Expertise: astrophysics, space, supernovae, exploding stars

Photo: Professor Alan Fitzsimmons
Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics

Professor Fitzsimmons studies icy comets from the cold outskirts of our Solar system, and rocky asteroids that can pass too close for comfort.

Expertise: Astrophysics, solar system, asteroids, comets, space, space mining

Photo: Dr Andrew Newton
School of Natural and Built Environment (NBE)

His main research interests focus broadly on high latitude/altitude settings. This work typically focuses on integrating geomorphological and stratigraphic information from offshore 3D and 2D seismic data, borehole/core data, and remote sensing of land areas.

Expertise: glaciology, geology and geophysics, climate change of ice sheets, glaciers, sea/lake/river ice, the energy transition, carbon capture and storage

Photo: Professor Amilra De Silva
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Professor De Silva built the fluorescent PET sensor design tool generally useful for molecular scientists, collaborated to construct the market-leading OPTI blood electrolyte/gas analyser and invented the experimental field of molecular logic-based computation.

Expertise: sensor technology, chemistry, photophysics, photochemistry, sensors