Research Interests
Open to PhD applications in the field of
- Theoretical and computational physics and chemistry
- Atomic and molecular many-body physics
- Electronic structure theory
Public outreach & key achievements
I am a Reader in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Queen's. I held a European Research Council grant (2019-2024) for a research programme developing theory for antimatter interactions with atoms, molecules and condensed matter, successfully directing a team of 3 Research Fellows and 4 PhD students. I graduated MPhys from Balliol College, Univesity of Oxford (2008) and PhD in Theoretical Atomic Physics from QUB (2011).
Since then I have been a Visiting Fellow at ITAMP, Harvard University, a Research Fellow at Durham University Chemistry Department and the Joint Quantum Centre, and an EPSRC Fellow at Queen's University Belfast. I was awarded the 2019 Institute of Physics Sir David Bates prize for outstanding contributions to atomic, molecular, quantum and plasma physics, the 2018 QUB Vice-Chancellors Postdoctoral Research Prize, and the 2017 international ICPEAC Sheldon Datz prize.
I was the Chair of the Institute of Physics Ireland (2022-2024) and am a member of the UK Institute of Physics Council of Trustees. I was secretary of the Institute of Physics Atomic and Molecular Interactions Group (AMIG). I am Chair of the Scientific advisory board for the International Workshop for Positron and Positronium physics (POSMOL).
Examples of recent work include:
1. Many-body theory of positron binding to polyatomic molecules, Nature 606 688 [2022] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04703-3
Research students
| PhD Title | Many-body theory of positron-molecule interactions |
| Name | Jack Cassidy |
| Year of Study | 2020 - 2024 |
| PhD Title | Theory and computation for positron interactions with many-electron systems |
| Name | Jaroslav Horfierka |
| Year of Study | 2019 - 2023 |
| PhD Title | Positron interactions in atoms and clusters |
| Name | David Waide |
| Year of Study | 2016 - 2022 |
Alumni: Where are they now
| Name | Jaroslav Hofierka |
| Current Position | Moved to a Postdoc at Heidelberg |
| Name | David Waide |
| Current Position | Moved to a Postdoc at Trinity College Dublin |
Discover More
- Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences
- School of Mathematics and Physics
- https://blogs.qub.ac.uk/antimatter/dermot/