About me
I am a physicist, educator, and STEM advocate. In my career thus far I have worked as a research academic, as an educational innovation and support professional, and as a science communicator. I now draw on all those skills in my role at the School of Engineering and Energy.
Research interests:
Characterisation of defect centres in natural diamond
The cause of colour in some natural diamonds is still an open question after decades of study. We can investigate these fascinating objects by combining a range of optical spectroscopy techniques to learn more about the atomic-scale colour centres within.
Some diamonds, such as Australian pink diamonds, "chameleon" diamonds, and others, show colour changes in response to light and heat. These photo- and thermochromic behaviours can be exploited to identify electronic energy levels and charge transfer dynamics directly related to the colour-causing defects. By then combining photochromic excitation with absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies we can explore additional dynamics involving multiple species of defect centres.