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EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Metamaterials ANNUAL BROCHURE 2016/17

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Page 1: EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Metamaterials - University of Exeterempslocal.ex.ac.uk › xm2 › IanHooper › XM2 Annual Brochure... · 2016-10-15 · some 20 students having

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EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Metamaterials

ANNUAL BROCHURE 2016/17

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Metamaterials, fabricated microstructures having properties beyond those found in nature, are emerging as an important new class of materials with applications in many technology areas, from energy harvesting, through perfect imaging, to communication, and the much-hyped ‘cloaking’.

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Metamaterials (XM2) is based entirely on the Streatham Campus at the University of Exeter in the Departments of Physics and Engineering. We have a well-established and strong track record of relevant research, spanning a unique mix of interests, from microwave metasurfaces to carbon nanotubes, from the fundamental theory of electromagnetism and quantum mechanics, to new understanding in acoustics, from graphene plasmonics to spintronics, magnonics and magnetic composites, from terahertz photonics to biomimetics.

Full instructions about how to apply are available at www.exeter.ac.uk/metamaterials/apply. You will also find a list of projects to which we are currently recruiting on that page. As part of the application process you will be required to provide:

• an outline of your research interests

• a suggestion of your preferred areas of study, and/or your interest in a particular project.

• an indication of whether you have already been in contact with a potential supervisor

• a discussion of why you would like to study for a PhD in Physics or Engineering, and why you would like to join a cohort-based doctoral training centre

• an academic CV

• relevant degree transcripts including a breakdown of module marks

• the names of two academic references

Failure to provide any of the above information may result in your application being rejected without consideration. Candidates will be short-listed by the Admissions Tutor against a set of agreed criteria (see our website). Short-listed candidates will be interviewed by a panel of two members of the management board. If successful a second interview will be undertaken by the potential academic supervisors.

Note that applications will be processed as soon as they are received - they will not be held until the deadline. Interviews will be held from November and offers will be made from December. You are therefore advised to apply as soon as possible.

APPLICATION DEADLINE:See note above. UK and EU: 1 JuneInternational: 1 May

ELIGIBILITY: Upper second or first class degree, or equivalent, in a relevant discipline.

VALUE:UK and EU: Tuition fee, and stipend (£14,057 in 2015/16)Non-EU: Tuition fee only.

DURATION OF AWARD: 4 years. Entry in September only.

LOCATION: Streatham Campus, Exeter (Physics or Harrison buildings)

HOW TO APPLY: www.exeter.ac.uk/metamaterials/apply

ADMISSIONS TUTOR:Professor Alastair Hibbins email: [email protected] phone: +44(0) 1392 726568

Key Information and Application Details

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Our Centre for Doctoral Training in Metamaterials (artificial materials composed of sub-wavelength functional microstructures arranged in specific macroscopic ‘order’) has evolved, as was our aim, into a highly productive research and training collective. We have built on our existing research

expertise, PhD supervision, and teaching practices to evolve a vibrant, supportive yet challenging, PhD training environment. We are now well into our third year, having already recruited our third cohort (of some 18 students), who started in September 2016, and we are planning to obtain further industrial engagement for our next cohort in 2017 now that we are well established. Our existing students are already developing networks with researchers in other countries and throughout industry, and, in a few years’ time, we expect them to move on to successful careers in industry and academia. They will leave Exeter with the ability to design and harness the functionality of metamaterials, maintaining and furthering the UK’s position in this rapidly developing field. They will also have the additional benefit of deeper skills training and professionalism compared to students who have pursued PhDs by the traditional route.

As anticipated this second year was even busier than the first with some 20 students having joined us in September 2015. All of these students, some coming from places as far away as China and Chile, have successfully integrated into the Centre and are progressing well.

Indeed several have already submitted papers and presented at

international conferences. This is very encouraging and shows that the

high level of expectancy, and the high level achieved by our previous

cohort of students, is being maintained.

Our first cohort also continues to progress well, and we are

extremely pleased with their contribution to the success of the

Centre. Having essentially been guinea-pigs when they first arrived in

September 2014, their feedback has been vital in the evolution of our

training programme. It has been notable from the feedback received

from our second cohort that the changes we’ve made have been

appreciated. They have also made the incoming students feel

exceptionally welcome, resulting in the supportive, collegiate

environment that was evident during the first year of the Centre

continuing with the addition of the new students.

Now that our third cohort has arrived life will become even more

exciting, with over 50 students within the Centre, over 35 staff

involved, and a rapidly increasing number of interactions with both

academic and industrial partners.

ROY SAMBLES

Director

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in

Metamaterials is thriving. It has become a

dynamic body of research students and

supervisors spanning science and

engineering, with a strong sense of

community and a shared purpose. It

continues to develop a culture of excellence

in research, and an openness to discourse that one does not usually

find spanning disciplines in this way. A key to the success is the high

quality of the student intake: applicants are carefully screened and

only the very best are accepted onto the programme. Another

important factor is the strong sense of ownership by academics and

students alike: a genuine enthusiasm for performing at the very

highest level. As the first intake of students reach the end of their

second year, this is starting to show up in the scientific output of the

programme: the journal and conference papers that are flowing from

the Centre. At the same time, all are looking forward to welcoming a

new cohort of students onto the programme in the autumn. I

encourage everyone - potential student applicants, industrial

colleagues, academics - to think about how this outstanding resource

could be of maximum benefit to you.

JONATHAN KNIGHT

Chair of the Oversight Board

Foreword

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PRINCIPLE CONTACTS

PROFESSOR ROY SAMBLES

(Director)

PROFESSOR ALASTAIR HIBBINS (Co-Director)

PROFESSOR DAVID WRIGHT (Co-Director)

DR IAN HOOPER (Technical Director)

ROSIE DIXON (Administrative Officer)

[email protected]+44 (0)1392 726568

The Centre’s first two cohorts with staff during induction week

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As the pace of technological development accelerates so does the need for novel materials functionality. XM2 is dedicated to ensuring that, when our graduates leave Exeter, they will move into industry and academia as highly trained professionals with a broad breadth of knowledge in the field of metamaterials, helping to maintain and further develop the UK’s position in the field of metamaterial science.

The EPSRC Centre of Doctoral Training in Metamaterials (XM2) opened its doors to new PhD researchers is September 2014, and since then has been providing training to them in a challenging yet supportive cohort-based environment. Unlike traditional “lone scholar” PhDs, our researchers are working and learning together, while allowing individuals to flourish and discover their own potential (and limitations). The breadth of training has been chosen such that they will graduate with a wide knowledge of metamaterial physics, materials engineering, device production and characterisation. At the same time they are being formally trained in wider professional and personal skills such as innovation, engagement, industrial awareness, and time and programme management, enabling them to become highly skilled and talented researchers in their own right, as well as potential future leaders in industry and academia.

Each cohort of students will normally be around 16 students, approximately one-third of which are from Europe and beyond. The academic team supervising them comprises over 30 academics spread across Physics and Materials Engineering, ranging from world-level researchers through to early career academics, and whose focus ranges from fundamental theory to end-user applications. In order to maintain a cohort ethos and to encourage academics to be involved in multiple, interdisciplinary projects, our PhD researchers have two or three joint academic supervisors as well as an independent mentor to provide impartial advice about PhD progress, and to give pastoral support.

One of our unique aspects is that our students undertake research from day 1, whilst in parallel receiving the training that they need. The initial 6-month research projects are designed to enable the students to produce publishable results, a tough challenge but one that stimulates the students and drives them to be the best they can.

The XM2 Approach

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6 MONTH RESEARCH PROJECT

COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL

COACHING

COMPLETE PhD

TECHNICAL TRAINING COURSES

(PROGRAMMING, COMPUTATIONAL

MODELLING ETC.)

PLASMONICS

SENSING AND SECURITY

FUNDAMENTALS OF ACOUSTICS

MAGNETIC METAMATERIALS AND DEVICES

PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS OF ADVANCED MATERIAL

CHARACTERISATION TECHNIQUES

1ST CREATIVITY EVENT

LEARNING AND TEACHING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

STATISTICS

MASTERS LEVEL LECTURE COURSE (OF STUDENTS’ CHOICE)

LITERATURE REVIEW

MASTERS LEVEL LECTURE COURSE (OF STUDENT’S CHOICE)

PRESENTATION AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS

2ND CREATIVITY EVENT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

COURSE

LEADERSHIP COURSE

VITAE GRADSCHOOL

FULL PhD RESEARCH PROJECT

THESIS PREPARATION

Research

“Soft” skills

Scientific training

Metamaterials specific/Techincal training

THE PROGRAMME AT A GLANCE

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The four management board members have, between them, recruited and seen through to successful completion a total of over 110 PhD students, many of whom have subsequently attained high-level positions in industry or academia. Our previous success has been achieved by ensuring an academically excellent, committed student intake coupled with high-quality supervision. However recruitment to a cohort-based doctoral training programme requires a somewhat different approach to that of a conventional “lone-scholar” studentship. Besides excellence in academic ability, candidates for our studentships will need to demonstrate commitment to working as part of a research team, and must be prepared to align themselves with the strong training ethos of the programme.

Each September we invite our academics to submit proposals for PhD projects, starting the following year. These are then reviewed and prioritised (according to scientific excellence and strategic relevance) by the members of the management team. We will make these proposals available on our website www.exeter.ac.uk/metamaterials. Potential applicants may want to join our post-graduate-run Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CDTMetamaterials) or follow us on twitter @XM2_CDT for announcements and the latest news across the year.

Applicants are shortlisted by the Admissions Tutor (Prof Alastair Hibbins) against a set of agreed criteria, as detailed on our website. We normally expect to take around 40% of applicants through to the first assessment stage. This takes the form of an interview, either as part of a visit to Exeter, or via video-conference, with two members of the management team. During this session, we are looking for applicants to demonstrate a high standard of academic ability, and will typically discuss the topic of any research undertaken. We are also looking to understand which projects he/she is interested in, while at the same time sifting-out those applicants who would not likely benefit from a cohort-based PhD programme. If successful at this stage, we will forward the application to potential supervisors who will undertake a second interview, and will be able to spend some time discussing the chosen project. They will then report back a recommendation to the Admissions Tutor who will process the decision. Shortlisting, and interviews take place across the recruitment season, starting in November and continuing to April or May the following year. We will normally expect to make a decision about your application as soon as the assessment process is complete.

Recruitment

It’s great to work alongside people from all over the world – I have learnt a lot more than just physics.

The double supervision allows for a greater flow of ideas and stimulating conversation.

LAUREN BARR, XM2 STUDENT

CHRIS KING, XM2 STUDENT

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THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

The University of Exeter combines world-class research with excellent student satisfaction at its campuses in Exeter and Cornwall. It is a member of the Russell Group of leading research-intensive universities. Formed in 1955, the University has over 21,000 students from more than 130 different countries. Its success is built on a strong partnership with its students and a clear focus on high performance.

We are ranked 93rd in the 2015/16 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the most influential global league table. The new ranking marks a significant rise for the University, having leapt from 154th last year, and cements its position as being amongst the top 1 per cent of universities worldwide. The CWTS Leiden Ranking 2016 places us in the top-40 globally and 8th in Europe, a position based on the scientific impact of our research and on our involvement in scientific collaboration. We are a top UK University, according to all the main higher education league tables, with the Complete University Guide 2017 rating both our Physics and Engineering departments as top 10 in the UK.

The University is committed to a substantial expansion of its science base, with new buildings erected and under construction and extensive refurbishment of existing facilities. Within Physics and Engineering more than £12m has been spent on infrastructure since 2008. One of Exeter’s key Science Strategy themes across Physics and Engineering is Functional Materials, and the fields of electromagnetic materials, nanomaterials and graphene have seen extensive investment over the past 5 years with 20 new academic staff appointed during that period. The University is committed to continued investment in this important area for the next 5 years and beyond.

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TrainingWe have designed our programme so that our students start undertaking research from day 1, yet we have also front-loaded much of the additional training programme to ensure that they can develop the skills they need at the earliest opportunity. One of the great strengths of doctoral cohort training is the additional benefits that we can provide our students over and above that available in a traditional PhD programme. In the first year our students undertake training in Creativity (as part of the EPSRC’s Creativity@Home programme), Cognitive Behavioural Coaching (CBC), teaching, and project management, as well as taking courses targeted at the skills they will need to undertake their day-to-day research such as presentation skills, computational modelling and programming etc. As students progress into subsequent years their training will focus on Leadership, and the opportunity to undertake scientific outreach. They will also attend the Vitae GRADschool where they will have the opportunity to broaden many of these non-technical skills further.

INITIAL 6-MONTH RESEARCH PROJECT

A key aspect of our programme is to ensure that researchers, many of whom will have MPhys or MSc degrees or have engaged previously with research, are not engulfed with formal lectures but start their research work early. This means that the first year is exceptionally challenging as they balance the production of high quality research while also attending the additional training courses. Students are asked to produce research work of a quality that can be written up as a report in the form of a potentially publishable paper by the end of March. This is a major challenge, but our researchers have welcomed it and have produced some very impressive pieces of work, with several papers published by our first two cohorts directly resulting from their projects.

CREATIVITY

We want to make an early start on many of the elements of training that our students are likely to be unfamiliar with, in order to help build new habits and better working practices. We begin the Creativity training with an afternoon during the students’ induction week. This is run by Dennis Sherwood of Silver Bullet Machine, and the center-piece of the discussion is Arthur Koestler’s insight that creativity is not a ‘bolt from the blue’; rather, creativity is a process of forming different, and hopefully new, patterns from pre-existing elements. To those who have not come across this before, this is a surprise. Not only does it de-mystify creativity, but it further implies that, in a deep sense, nothing is new: all apparently new things are formed by bringing together pre-existing things. This is immediately evident in music - Beethoven didn’t invent any of the notes, but he did form some wonderful new patterns. Perhaps less obviously, it’s true in

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science too: so, for example, the X-ray diffraction pattern of a helix was known to be the characteristic X-shape (the “CCV” paper of 1952); Chargaff’s Laws had established that DNA is formed not of A-T-C-G tetramers but of A-T and G-C dimers (work published from 1949); and Rosalind Franklin’s PhD student, Raymond Gosling, took the critical X-ray picture in 1952, which was seen by Watson (1953). Watson, with Crick, put all these pieces together to describe DNA for the first time, but all of the pieces were there - anyone could have done it!

However, one event is not enough - it needs to be worked on and become part of the habit of research. It also needs to become more personal, i.e. specific to the individual needs of the students and their projects. During the spring we run a number of other creativity events with Dennis Sherwood as the facilitator. One is a student activity, where students sign-up to talk to Dennis about particular aspects of their own work. The aim in these sessions is to help students develop patterns of work that will enable them to solve their own problems and to come up with new ideas.

COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL COACHING

There is a growing evidence-base that postgraduate research progress can be enhanced through Cognitive Behavioural Coaching (CBC), and provision of this support has been designed into the XM2 programme. Staff in Exeter’s CEDAR (Clinical Education Development and Research) center offer CBC throughout each cohort’s studies aimed at strengthening academic adaptability and problem-solving commonly experienced obstacles to progression in both group and individual formats. The focus of these sessions can include topics such as goal-setting and self-monitoring, and enhancing skills to deal with issues such as procrastination and perfectionism or individual barriers to successful progression.

CBC is introduced to our researchers during a short session in their induction week. The goals for this session are simply to communicate the essentials; the nature of a coaching relationship and the use of CBC to enhance performance as well as dealing with setbacks. Before the Christmas break we run a follow-up workshop focusing on enhancing performance through strategic engagement using goal-setting and self-monitoring skills. We then continue to conduct CBC group and individual sessions, allowing the students to sign-up for the aspects they are interested in or find most helpful.

A BROADER SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION

In order to be successful as an academic, or within an industrial research environment, being an expert in your narrow field is often insufficient. If, as our student’s learn in their Creativity courses, all apparently new ideas are formed by bringing together pre-existing knowledge, it is essential that our students broaden their horizons both within the field of metamaterials, and without. To this end our students attend weekly seminars given by visiting academics on a wide-range of scientific topics, and we have developed a series of 2-day intensive workshops focused on the themes of Plasmonics, Magnonics, Acoustics, Fabrication and Characterisation of Functional Materials, and Sensing and Security. These workshops are designed to be interactive and stimulating and, in order for our students to gain a perspective of research in an industrial environment, some of these courses are being run by experts from industry.

LEADERSHIP AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Whilst during their PhD students will be focused on undertaking their research project, when they graduate they will quickly find that they are expected to take on management roles, leading research teams and managing projects. In order to develop these often-ignored skills, our students undertake courses in Project Management and Leadership.

Our Project Management course is run by an external training and consultancy company, Fistral Ltd., and has been incredibly well-received by our students, scoring 5 out of 5 in the end-of-course review questionnaire. The course takes place immediately after the student’s 6-month project so that they have some experience of undertaking research and are better able to put what they learn into the context of a research programme. The Leadership training takes place in the third year of the programme, and is designed to help students recognise different management styles and explore ideas in effective leadership.

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THE NEED FOR A NEW TRAINING APPROACH

Nationally, around 35% of the UK’s doctoral graduates in physical sciences and engineering are employed in the higher education sector 3 years after graduating, and this has been a declining fraction since the mid 1990’s. This decline has been accompanied by a marked transition in the role of PhD programmes. Emphasis has shifted from identifying and nurturing individual scholars, towards more closely matching the needs of industry. To embrace this change, we are training cohorts of doctoral scientists and engineers with relevant research skills, a broad knowledge base, and well-developed professional attributes, to become the UK’s future leaders in industry and academia in the field of material science.

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Facilities

The areas of electromagnetic materials, nanomaterials and graphene have been a strategic investment priority for the University for several years and, with over £10m of capital investment over the same period. This means that we have, in-house, all of the state-of-the-art materials, nanofabrication and characterisation facilities required by our students. From e-beam lithography, thin film deposition, plasma-etching systems, and associated photonic laboratories, through to a suite of 3D printers and well equipped microwave and acoustics laboratories, we have the full range of facilities needed to fabricate and characterise samples on lengths scales from nanometres to metres.

All of these facilities are housed in purpose-built laboratories, including five dedicated clean rooms, three of which have been built in the last 5 years. Our students also have access to state-of-the-art computational facilities and software packages including the University of Exeter Zen Supercomputer and various Beowulf clusters.

In addition, during their studies our students will be expected to spend time in our academic and industrial partner institutions, and in central research facilities, in order to experience other working environments and allow access to an even greater range of specialist facilities.

All of our students are housed in newly re-furbished office spaces, with a dedicated training/meeting room, for at least the first two years of their training. This strengthens the cohort ethos of the Centre and encourages interactions and collaborations between the students.

My experience as an XM2 student has been great so far. Apart from our research, as a cohort we receive training in different areas helping us to broaden our knowledge in aspects such as creativity, teaching, etc.

ALBA PANIAGUA DIAZ, XM2 STUDENT

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STUDENT SUPPORT

All of our PhD researchers are supervised jointly by at least two academic members of staff. This is hugely valuable because our students benefit from different perspectives about how to approach their research challenges, while also offering a more creative environment. Our students normally meet with both supervisors at least once a week to discuss progress, and in many cases, supervisors will have complimentary backgrounds, perhaps in theory and experimental work, or physics and engineering. Each student is also assigned a mentor, who is a member of the supervisory team independent of their project, in order to provide confidential pastoral support for their overall wellbeing, and to offer general advice regarding the progress of their PhD project.

A “buddy” scheme, established so that our researchers have enhanced pastoral support on arrival, provides a friendly face to advise new students during their first few months in Exeter. The idea is simple: to pair each arrival with a current XM2 PhD researcher whom they feel comfortable approaching with questions and advice about the University, the departments, and Exeter itself, or even about life in the UK. It is important that buddies should not be people who are involved in supervising PhD students or running the Centre so that the student could ask things openly and, at the same time, expand their initial circle of contacts.

The centre also has a full time administrator who handles the whole “life cycle” of the students’ course and deals with finance, monitoring, and any non-academic issues that relate to procedures and paperwork. In addition there is a full-time technical director who has responsibility for lab management and the day-to-day research requirements of the students.

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Whilst the cohort based approach to research and training differentiates the XM2 PhD programme from the traditional “lone scholar” PhD, the essence of the key aspect, the requirement to produce a piece of original research, remains unchanged. XM2 is interdisciplinary in nature, with projects taking place within our research groups in the Physics and Engineering departments along the following themes:

OPTICAL, INFRA-RED AND THz PHOTONICS AND PLASMONICS

(i) Light at the nanoscale (ii) Nanoplasmonics for metamaterial applications (iii) Graphene based devices(iv) Phase-change photonic devices(v) Optically tuneable metamaterials (vi) Subwavelength imaging

MICROWAVE METAMATERIALS

(i) Metasurfaces and surface waves (ii) 3D metamaterials and photonic crystals (iii) Compact and functional antennas (iv) Resonators and energy harvesting structures (v) Filtering, absorbing and channelling microwave energy (vi) Active metamaterials

MAGNONICS, SPINTRONICS AND MAGNETIC METAMATERIALS

(i) Programmable magnonic metamaterials (ii) Spintronics (iii) Spin wave based data and electromagnetic signal processing (iv) Artificial magnetic materials and their tuneability (v) Magnetic composites

ACOUSTIC AND FLUID-DYNAMICAL METAMATERIALS

(i) Aero- and hydro-acoustic metasurfaces for manipulating the propagation of sound

(ii) 3D metamaterials and phononic crystals(iii) Fluid-structure interactions for influencing the flow of fluids (iv) Coupling between acoustics and fluid-flow (v) Microfluidic metamaterials for lab-on-a-chip technologies

WAVE THEORY AND SPATIAL TRANSFORMATIONS

(i) Application of spatial transformation theory to electromagnetic and acoustic problems

(ii) Theory of metasurfaces (iii) Theory of light propagation in complex media

GRAPHENE AND OTHER 2D MATERIALS, AND RELATED DEVICES

(i) Flexible metastructured detectors and sources for infrared and THz

(ii) Multifunctional ultra-lightweight energy harvesting coatings (iii) Metastructures for underwater acoustics

NANOMATERIALS AND NANOCOMPOSITES

(i) Nanometamaterials, nanorods, nanowires, nano-tubes of carbon or carbon based structures

(ii) Carbon nanotubes and graphene for energy conversion and storage

(iii) Composites for control of electromagnetic radiation

QUANTUM METAMATERIALS

(i) Exploitation of coherent quantum dynamics to control electromagnetic waves

(ii) Magnetic field sensing with quantum metamaterials

BIOLOGICAL AND BIO-INSPIRED METAMATERIALS

(i) Exploration of metastructures in wingscales and insect cuticles; (ii) Biomimetics of natural photonic structures (iii) Use of nanocellulose to provide biodegradable optical

metamaterials (iv) Magneto-elastic membranes

Research

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Current Projects 2014 COHORT (2ND YEARS):

BENJAMIN ASHMicrophononic Crystals

LAUREN BARRChiral and magneto-optical phenomena in the near field of metamaterials

ERICK BURGOSTime resolved imaging of spin transfer oscillator arrays: towards active magnetic microwave metamaterials

SANTIAGO GARCÍA-CUEVAS CARRILLOPhase-change metamaterials for optoelectronic device application

LAICONG DENGNanoporous Graphene Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion Application

CAMERON GALLAGHERDomain structure and microwave characteristics of particulate magnetic composites

THOMAS GRAHAMMinimising acoustic reflections using structured surfaces

CHRISTOPHER KINGUsing complex coordinates in optics

CONOR MCKEEVERMicroscopic modelling of interacting magnetic particle assemblies in a dielectric medium

JAKE MEHEWNovel opto-electronic devices based on graphene plasmonics

TOBY OCTONPlasmonic 2D metal-dichalcogenide photodetectors for optical fibre communications applications

ALBA M PANIAGUA DIAZImaging in turbid and opaque media

SATHYA SAI SEETHARAMANHyperbolic meta-materials and the emission of EM radiation

SAM SHELLEYMetamaterial concepts for the control of hydrodynamic flow

TIM SPICERExcitation of picosecond magnetisation dynamics by spin transfer torque

ILLIA STARSHYNOVSpontaneous generation of quantum correlations in natural media

TANVEER AHMAD TABISHFabrication and Luminescence of Graphene-Like Carbide Quantum Dots

2015 COHORT (1ST YEARS):

JOE BEADLEExploration of acoustic waveguiding

EMMA BURGESSMatched impedance high-index materials for antennas

MIGUEL CAMACHO AGUILARThin metal multilayers for microwave applications

THOMAS COLLIERCarbon nanotube arrays for THz generation: Theory and applications

JULIA DAUTOVAScattering and Localisation of Microwave Surface Waves

HENRY FERNANDEZUsing nanostructure to create hybrid light-matter states: a combined electrical and optical investigation

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UPCOMING PROJECTS:DAVID OSUNA Magneto-actuated Morphing Metamaterials.

ELIZABETH MARTIN Microfluidic metamaterials for lab-on-a-chip technology.

EMANUELE GEMO Plasmonic integrated all-photonic memories.

FRANCIS DAVIES Engineering the thermal conductivity of few layer 2D materials

GUERINO AVALLONE Magnetic field sensing with quantum metamaterials.

HARRY PENKETH Synthesizing 3D METAmaterials (SYMETA).

JACOB ROTH Propagation of magnetic flux through a nanostructured magnetic metamaterial.

JOAQUIN FANECA Photonic Metamaterials for WDM opticalRUEDAS communication applications

JONATHON VENTHAM Magnonic metamaterials for smart applications

JULIA DE PINEDA Exploration of beam shaping at microwaveGUTIÉRREZ frequencies using metasurfaces and

metamaterials

KEVIN FRIPP High-speed spin-wave devices

KIERAN WALSH Ultra-lightweight energy harvesting coatings based on two-dimensional materials.

MILO BARRACLOUGH Microwave metamaterials as models of molecular light harvesting systems.

NED TAYLOR Understanding the mechanism of colossal permittivity materials

PABLO MARTINEZ Functional, specially-doped Core-shellPANCORBO nanoparticles for biomedical imaging

applications.

ROSAMUND HERAPETH THz imaging using dynamic metamaterials.

WILLIAM FERGUSON Broadband Vibration Energy Harvesting for Low Frequencies

ZAHID (MIAN ZAHID) “Black” ZnO and TiO2 nanostructures for HUSSAIN high efficient visible light photocatalysis.

INCOMING STUDENTS WITH SPONSORS:Julia Pineda Gutierrez, Flann MicrowaveJoaquin Faneca Ruedas, Oclaro

JOSHUA HAMILTONMagnetically actuated bio-inspired metamaterials

BEN HOGAN2D liquid composites for integrated optoelectronic devices on Si

GEORGE KARKERAReconfigurable graphene-based metamaterials

VICKI KYRIMIExploration of negative group velocity acoustic surface modes

ANGUS LAURENSONQuasi-classical formulation of magnonics

CHARLIE MANNPlasmonic lattices from diffractive structures to 2D metamaterials

KISHAN MENGHRAJANIExcitonics: an organic route to Metamaterials

JOSEPH MORGANLightweight, Transparent and Sustainable Metamaterials

CARLOTA RUIZ DE GALARRETAElectronically controllable optical wavefront shaping with phase change materials

CHENG SHI2D/Meta-materials Infrared Optoelectronic Devices

CRAIG TOLLERTONNovel 2D materials for plasmonics and photonics

LIAM TRIMBYChalcogenide perfect absorbers for the detection and modulation of infra-red radiation

CALLUM VINCENTTime-resolved imaging of surface acoustic and spin waves excited in 2D metamaterials

NATALIE WHITEHEADGraded index magnonics

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XM2 RESEARCHER WINS PRESTIGIOUS GRANT

TANVEER AHMED TABISH

Earlier this year the British Council, in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry, announced the Newton Bhabha Fund Researcher Links Grants, which

are designed to bring together researchers from the UK and India with the aim of building international networks focused on solving the challenges facing India in economic development and social welfare. I submitted an application for this highly competitive fund, and was one of 14 researchers selected from UK. The award covers all travel and accommodation expenses for my attendance at a workshop on “Clean water through advanced and affordable materials” in Chennai during

August of this year, where I will present my recent research on the synthesis and characterization of graphene nanocomposites for water remediation. Nanomaterials already have numerous applications in water filtration, separation and treatment. Graphene nanocomposites may have numerous advantages over the existing technologies due to its unique water transport properties, higher surface area, excellent mechanical strength, non-corrosive features, tunable surface chemistry and scalable production.

Winning this grant, and the opportunity it affords me, will be invaluable in broadening my capabilities and improving my employability for my career beyond my PhD.

XM2 STUDENTS HELP GROW LOCAL SPIE CHAPTER

ALBA PANIAGUA DIAZ

From the very beginning of my studies as a member of XM2, I’ve been strongly involved with the local SPIE student chapter (https://spie.org/membership/

student-members/student-chapters), and currently have the pleasure of leading it. Belonging to the chapter gives our members the opportunity to develop skills that are often overlooked in traditional PhDs, in a fun and inclusive environment. This matches well with the ethos of XM2.

One of our aims is to develop our member’s teaching skills and to undertake outreach throughout our local region. Some of our members have visited local primary schools to demonstrate optics-based experiments to teachers in the hope that they can use them to better engage with their pupils, and we have also welcomed pupils from local secondary schools to the University where we endeavoured to answer their questions about light through demonstrations.

Being part of the chapter also gives our members the chance to meet researchers from different disciplines, but with a common fascination of optics. To promote this, we have organised a series of student lectures allowing us to disseminate our work both to each other and to non-experts, whilst providing the speakers with an additional opportunity to improve their presentation skills.

We also organise visits to science and technology companies to help our members understand the requirements of a career in these industries. Recently we visited the Met Office in Exeter, and we have plans to visit companies based in Cambridge in the near future.

There are over a hundred SPIE Student Chapters throughout the world, and 8 in the UK. Our Chapter is relatively young, but already we are developing close links with those based at the Universities of Southampton and St Andrews, organising events together, and promoting networking. Last year we hosted the Southampton Chapter, holding a day of talks, discussions and lab tours, and in September the Southampton Chapter will be hosting some of our members for a similar event.

Student Case Studies

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ERICK BURGOS PARRA

Within the field of my PhD research in magnetic phenomena there has always been great interest in imaging magnetic domains, because visualizing the

spatial variation of the magnetization helps us to understand and test predictions and simulations based on underlying theory.

Together with colleagues in the magnetics research team at Exeter, I worked on a project with colleagues at Seagate Technology, which has recently been published in the Journal of Applied Physics [1]. We explored how the magnetization state of a hard disk write head changes during the data writing process. Using a laser and an electromagnetic phenomenon called the Kerr effect we uncovered findings that could lead to better write head designs, cheaper hard drives, and data storage capacities greater than those currently available.

I’ve also published a paper as lead author [2], in which we used X-rays instead of a laser in order to obtain information about the magnetism in extremely small devices, one thousand times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. The advantage is that X-rays can pass through thin films of magnetic materials and their interactions with the magnetism of those layers can be recorded on a camera as an image of a diffraction pattern. After some data analysis, one can obtain images of the magnetic domains of the layers. In this experiment we investigated the effect of an electric current passing through a layer of just 7 nanometers of an alloy of Nickel and Cobalt. The spin of the electrons in the current, and the magnetic field formed by this current, interact with the magnetism of the layer. This interaction leads to the formation of magnetic vortices (where the magnetization state rotates around a central point) and other structures that are of vital importance in understanding how electric currents, spins and magnetic materials interact.

In December 2015 I travelled home to Chile to present some of this work at the 22nd Latin American Symposium of Solid State Physics in Puerto Varas. My talk was well received by the audience and, as a result of networking with other participants, I was invited to present my work at the weekly colloquia of both the Physics Department and the Magnetics group at the University of Chile. The director of the Center of Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CEDENNA), Dora Altbir, also invited me to present at their monthly colloquium.

The opportunity to discuss my work, the development of science on the national and regional scale, and what’s next in terms of experimental physics in Chile, with professors, post-doctoral researchers and Phd students, was invaluable. Such discussions with national and international leaders in their fields are essential if the next scientific generation is to help develop new attitudes towards science in our countries. It is our generation that will have the task of changing the focus of scientific research throughout South America, and we need to ensure that science becomes a vital part of government policy, and a prime focus for development. I firmly believe that my experiences during my visit will be fundamental in helping me achieve my objectives, both in developing as a scientist, generating collaborations, and, ultimately, as preparation for my eventual return to the scientific research environment in Chile.

[1] Robert A. J. Valkass et al., “Time-resolved scanning Kerr microscopy of flux beam formation in hard disk write heads” J. Appl. Phys. 119, 233903 (2016).

[2] E. O. Burgos Parra et al, “Holographic magnetic imaging of single layer nano-contact spin transfer oscillators”, IEEE Trans. Magn. 52, 6500304 (2016).

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JOE MORGAN

In June of this year I travelled to the Indian Institute of Technology in Hyderabad for four weeks as part of a research exchange funded through the UK - India

education research initiative (UKIERI). The trip followed the visit to Exeter of Dr. Manohar Kakunuri during which he worked with members of Prof. Stephen Eichhorn’s research group developing an electrospinning technique that allows micro-scale control of cellulose fibre arrangements. This technique can be used to create structured precursors for carbon electrodes, and has applications in batteries

and supercapacitors. During my visit to India I worked with Manohar to investigate the potential of cellulose nanocrystals as precursors for carbon electrodes, and undertook experiments investigating the properties of graphene/cellulose nanocrystal parallel plate capacitors. The facilities available in Hyderabad were state-of-the-art, offering the opportunity to use equipment which is unavailable in the UK.

The trip was a fantastic opportunity to undertake research in an exciting and vastly different culture, and I would leap at the chance if a similar opportunity arose again.

EMMA BURGESS AND CAMERON GALLAGHER

We undertook a research visit to the Belarussian State University in Minsk for a week in July 2016. The work was in part driven by the global need to design and

manufacture compact multifunctional, thermally stable, microwave radiation absorbers, for example for applications in next-generation communication systems.

The goal was to study composite materials formed from hollow carbon spheres together with both non-magnetic, and magnetic components. These spheres are based on simple polymer beads or even organic materials such as fish eggs. During our time in Minsk

we made measurements on monolayers of these spheres with sizes ranging from sub-mm to ~2 mm in order to determine their frequency dependent refractive index for frequencies between 26 and 38 GHz. Upon our return, we used our equipment in Exeter to measure the properties of these systems at lower frequencies, and are beginning to explore some of the unusual phenomena they exhibited.

The visit to Belarus was rather daunting at first, but they were very supportive and friendly. We both learned the importance of being organized and resourceful, and it was a great confidence booster! Overall we feel that it was a really exciting opportunity to experience life as an academic away from home. We’re hoping to publish three papers together, and expect to continue working together in future.

XM2 STUDENT TAKES OUTREACH TO ANOTHER LEVELSAM SHELLEY

In late July 2015 I joined a group of 7,000 adults from 155 countries to help deliver the 23rd World Scout Jamboree in Japan to 22,896 young people

aged between 14 and 17. Over a two-week period they would live together on the site in Kirara-hama, Yamaguchi, taking part in a wide range of activities. These were focused in seven main areas, Nature, Water, Community, Peace, Global Development, Culture and Science, of which they would spend half a day at each.

I was assigned to the Science activity area, which consisted of 40 different bases. Each one was looking at a different aspect of science and how we can use it to better the world we live in. My base, run by Toyota, focused on hydrogen fuel cells. The young people would first be given a short talk on the different fuel types that have been used in the past and the issues surrounding them. After this they would get hands on trying out some remote controlled hydrogen powered cars to demonstrate what they had learned. To close off the base they would get to have a look at the Toyota Mirai, a full sized commercial

hydrogen powered car. I ran the base with three colleagues, one from Yorkshire, one from Finland, and the other from Thailand.

Overall it was an amazing experience. Helping to teach so many young people about Science and Technology, and meeting people from all over the world, was incredibly rewarding, and the experience has certainly helped me when undertaking outreach with local school children as we are encouraged to do as members of XM2.

Kishan and his winning team

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IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW, IT’S WHAT YOU DO WITH IT…

KISHAN MENGHRAJANI

Almost all PhD researchers will experience the pleasure of discovering new phenomena and developing their knowledge-base within their chosen

specialization, but an important aspect that is sometimes overlooked in a traditional PhD is how to take your research to the next level and turn it into a product.

In June of this year I attended a “Startup Weekend” (https://startupweekend.org). The concept is simple: On day 1 everyone turns up and meets each other for the first time, followed by a series of short pitches on ideas that the presenters think could be turned into successful businesses. Teams are then formed that will develop those initial ideas into complete business plans on day 2, and on the final day each of the ideas is presented to a panel of experts and the winning team announced.

The team I belonged to wanted to solve a problem that dental students are currently facing. The government has banned students from working on real human teeth, requiring them to practice on plastic teeth instead. The cost of each plastic tooth is around £8, but they are a relatively poor mimic. Our concept was to make artificial teeth as similar as possible to real human teeth through the use of 3D printing. This process would allow far better mimics to be produced and, by our estimations, our teeth could cost half that of those currently available.

The whole process was incredibly instructive, and the skills I learnt will be invaluable for my future career… And the best bit about it? Our team won.Kishan and his winning team

HELPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENCE STUDENTS

GEORGE KARKERA

CoachBright is a startup organisation, founded by a recent University of Exeter graduate, which aims to give school pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds

a better chance of going to university. This is achieved through pairing the pupils with 1:1 ‘coaches’ – current university students and graduates. I volunteered to coach a pupil interested in Maths and Computer Science from Isca Academy.

After receiving training on how to effectively coach, tutor and mentor a pupil with the objective of improving their confidence, expectations, and academic attainment, I began the 7-week coaching programme, meeting my pupil for an hour each week. My coaching sessions ranged from going through past exam papers to simply discussing what she wanted to achieve and why. Every coaching session ended with me directing my pupil to set herself a specific, attainable goal for the following week.

At the end of the programme, all the coaches were invited to attend the pupil’s ‘graduation’ from the CoachBright programme, where the pupils received certificates and found out what university life had to offer by taking part in society tasters, seminars and campus tours. For this, another XM2 student and CoachBright coach, Natalie Whitehead, and I organised a ‘Physics at Exeter’ taster, with demonstrations, experiments and talks by current students.

Overall, I’m proud to be a CoachBright coach and I found the experience to be really enjoyable and rewarding. The programme received extremely good feedback, with my own pupil saying that her confidence and abilities had improved markedly following our sessions. Whilst I found it challenging at times it was an incredibly fulfilling experience, and the skills I’ve learnt will be invaluable.

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WAVE PROPAGATION IN COMPLEX COORDINATES

CHRIS KING

Our work is concerned with theoretically determining the reflection from and transmission through materials. Of particular interest is finding materials that don’t

reflect or absorb any of the incident light so that the entire wave passes through the object. Such materials may have applications as anti-reflection coatings for lenses, such as can be found on glasses, and may also be useful in the development of cloaks, where an object can be hidden by bending the path of light around it. The relative amount of reflection, transmission and absorption depends on the properties of the material. Here we are concerned with the permittivity of the material, which is a measure of how light interacts with the electric charges in the material.

Consider the setup shown in figure 1. We have derived a large family of permittivity profilesε(x) satisfying the so-called spatial Kramers-Kronig relations, which don’t reflect waves incident from one side for any angle of incidence. We have also obtained a subset of such media which, in addition to being reflectionless, also give perfect transmission (in other words, there is no absorption of the light either). An example of this is shown in figure 2

Following this work we are considering the flexibility in these materials. There is a phenomenon associated with random materials, known as Anderson localisation, whereby waves do not usually propagate through them. We have found materials which fall into the class of perfectly transmitting reflectionless media whilst also being random and are in the process of understnding why these materials do not exhibit this phenomenon.

Figure 1. A light wave is incident on a material with permittivity (x) which varies with the spatial coordinate x. In general the wave will be partially reflected from, partially transmitted through, and partially absorbed by the material.

Figure 2. A light source is placed to the left (i) and right (ii) of an object satisfying the spatial Kramers-Kronig relations and the electric field is plotted. The lack of ripples in (i) indicates that none of the light incident gets reflected for all angles of incidence whereas the ripples in (ii) indicate that there is reflection from the object. This is an example of a one-way reflectionless material.

MIGUEL CAMACHO

During March of this year I had the opportunity to

spend four weeks working in the Microwaves group at

my alma mater, Universidad de Sevilla, which is lead by

Dr. Francisco Medina Mena. Whilst there I undertook two pieces of

work: firstly I developed equivalent circuit models for multi-layered

systems that include an arbitrary number of dielectric slabs and

resonant arrays. This work was directly related to the initial 6-month

research project of my PhD, and has contributed towards

a manuscript that I am preparing for publication. After this I

completed a piece of work that I had been undertaking within the

Microwaves group during the last year my undergraduate degree

(with Dr. Rafael Rodriguez Boix) in which I studied the transmission

through a metal screen perforated with infinite and truncated arrays of

slots. This work has recently been published (M. Camacho, R. R. Boix

and F. Medina, Physical Review E, 063312, 93, 2016). With further

modifications that we plan to make to these models we will be able to

extend them into the study of surface wave propagation, opening the

door to design lenses and study how to design realistic experiments

that mimic structures of infinite extent, something that is exceedingly

difficult to do with other computational methods. The huge source of

ideas and knowledge that the Microwaves group in Seville represents

is still influencing my work though the collaboration that we built

during that month.

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An Industrial PerspectiveIndustrial research in the UK is highly dependent upon the recruitment of high-caliber scientists from academia, but this is rarely a straightforward process. Potential recruits are often poorly prepared for the shift into the commercial world, with only a hazy understanding of the differences between academic and industrial science, and a limited understanding of what an employer is truly looking for. This leads to many good candidates failing at interview – the first hurdle in their careers – and those that pass usually require lengthy on-the-job training in the most basic business skills before employers can unlock the true potential of their recruits.

XM2 is aimed at bridging this gap between industry and academia, providing employers with highly trained technologists who can make an immediate impact to their businesses whilst maintaining the scientific rigour and innovative thinking that UK businesses so desperately require. As a member of the Oversight Board, I can see the excellent progress that is being made. Through a mixture of

research projects, classroom training, visits to industry and invited speakers, a vibrant team of researchers has been formed, pursuing fundamental research whilst maintaining an appreciation of its value to the outside world. The caliber of the students has been very impressive, with many publishing their work within months of joining the Centre, and they are exhibiting the love of problem-solving and trenchant questions that will make them excellent scientists and engineers. This is all due to the quality of their education and leadership, provided by some of the UK’s best academic researchers, all of whom are experts in their fields. XM2 is making impressive progress, preparing new blood for UK industry, and I’m looking forward to being involved in the new discoveries that lie ahead.

Defence experts exchange knowledge with XM2 researchers

Over 100 Industry and academic scientific experts in the field of defence technology and national security met at the University of Exeter in May when it hosted a prestigious one-day conference.

The University was host to the bi-annual Materials and Structures Technology (MAST) Science and Technology Centre (STC) Defence Material Forum where participants met to exchange the UK’s ground-breaking knowledge, research and ideas and information on Ministry of Defence requirements.

Delegates were also shown around the materials laboratories in the Physics and Engineering buildings by our XM2 students, and another 20 of our team took part in a research showcase of posters of their work during the lunchtime networking session.

The MAST Programme brings together more than 80 organisations to deliver a coherent and integrated materials and structures research programme that addresses the specific needs of defence and security.

The Exeter event, organised by The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) the UK’s leading government agency in applying science and technology to the defence and security of the UK, included presentations from DSTL and industry and academic researchers on the current status of the MAST programme and progress of work under contract to the Ministry of Defence.

Professor Alastair Hibbins, Associate Professor in Metamaterial Physics, and Co-Director of the XM2 said: “We were delighted to be able to host this forum at Exeter, the aim of which is to promote a thriving community to foster knowledge, technology transfer and networking. A lot of the work that we do at Exeter in the area of metamaterials sits at the heart of this important area of national security and defence.”

Laura Jones of DSTL said: “We are extremely grateful to the University for hosting our Defence Materials Forum event at Exeter. The ‘vibe’ throughout the day was incredible and the Exeter team really helped to ensure the day was a great success.”

CHRIS LAWRENCEQinetiQ and Oversight Board Member

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THE STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVE

When a student completes their undergraduate degree and steps out through the doors of their university they are faced with a wall of choices, the first of which is often “academia or industry?” The answer to this question can seem to instantly define the rest of their career, but XM2, the Centre for Doctoral Training in Metamaterials in Exeter, opens doors to an array of opportunities, as the expertise gathered during the four years can easily lend itself both to university research and the world of business.

As a group of students in XM2 ourselves, we have found that working closely alongside people from all over the world is an opportunity that should not be missed. Each has their own area of expertise, but when solving particularly difficult problems together it becomes apparent that our combined knowledge is enough to tackle seemingly insurmountable challenges. This is what sets us apart – a broad range of people working independently and together, with the confidence to develop as individuals, and to collectively impact the science we do today and in the future.

STUDENT ADVISORY GROUPTom, Lauren, Erick and Toby

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At the time of printing there have been 10 peer reviewed papers and book chapters published by our students during the last year. Our students have also presented 30 posters and 14 oral presentations at international conferences and workshops during the last two years.

Published papers this year:

T. A. Tabish and S. Zhang, Graphene Quantum Dots: Synthesis, Properties and Biological Applications, Elsevier Reference Module in Materials Science and Materials Engineering (Section: Nanostructured Materials), Elsevier (New York).

S. Horsley, C. King and T. Philbin, Wave propagation in Complex Coordinates, Journal of Optics, 18, 044016 (2016).

I. Starshynov, J. Bertolotti, and J. Anders, Quantum correlation of light scattered by disordered media, Optics Express, 24, 5, pp. 4462-4671 (2016)

Erick O. Burgos Parra, Nick Bukin, Maxime Dupraz, Guillaume Beutier, Sohrab Sani, Horia Popescu, Stuart Cavill, Johan Akerman, Nicolas Jaouen, Paul Keatley, Robert Hicken, Gerrit van der Laan, Feodor Ogrin, Holographic imaging of magnetization in a single layer nano-contact spin transfer oscillator, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 52, 7, 1-4 (2016)

C. Shi, X. F. Zang, L. Chen, Y. Peng, B. Cai, G. R. Nash and Y. M. Zhu, Compact Broadband Terahertz Perfect Absorber Based on Multi-Interference and Diffraction Effects, IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology, 6 (1), 40 (2016)

S. Shelley, J. D. Smith, A. P. Hibbins, J. R. Sambles and S. A. R. Horsley, Fluid Mobility over Corrugated Surfaces in the Stokes Regime, Phys. Fluids, 28, 083101 (2016)

S. Garcia-Cuevas Carillo, G. R. Nash, H. Hayat, M. Klemm, M. J. Cryan, H. Bhaskaran and C. D. Wright, “Design of practicable phase-change metadevices for near-infrared absorber and modulator applications”, Optics Express 24(12), 13563 (2016).

E. T. Alonso, G. Karkera, G. F. Jones, M. F. Craciun and S. Russo, “Homogeneously bright, flexible, and foldable lighting devices with functional graphene electrodes”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 8(26), 16541 (2016)

T. Octon, K. Nagareddy, S. Russo, M. F. Craciun, C. D. Wright, “Fast High-Responsivity Few-Layer MoTe2 Photodetecors”, Adv. Opt. Mat. DOI:10.1002/adom.201600290 , (2016)

L. E. Barr, A. Diaz-Rubio, B. Tremain, J. Carbonell, J. Sanchez-Dehesa, E. Hendry and A. P. Hibbins, On the origin of pure optical rotation in twisted-cross metamaterials, Scientific Reports, 6, 30307 (2016)

Research Outputs

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Our Streatham Campus is easily accessible from London by train and European flights are available from Exeter, Newquay and Bristol airports.

Truro

Falmouth

Newquay

Bristol London2.5 hours by train from Exeter

Exeter

Exeter is very easy to fall in love with. It has one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, in one of the most beautiful counties in Britain.Virgin Alternative Guide to British Universities

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1 7th in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, 9th in The Guardian University Guide 2016

216th nationally by proportion of staff submitted, 3rd highest funding increase

3 ‘International Student Choice Category’ at the Whatuni Student Choice; best in the UK for international student satisfaction. The StudyPortals International Student Satisfaction Awards 2014

DEDICATED TOWORLD-CLASS RESEARCH

A GREATEDUCATIONALEXPERIENCE

In the Times Higher Education 2015 global top 100

Consistently in the top 10 of major UK higher education league tables1

A member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities

Outstanding results at the Research Excellence Framework 20142

Funded Doctoral Training programmes with all major UK research councils

High proportion of postdoctoral and early career researchers, supported by our Doctoral College

Our international students are the most satisfied in the UK3

The career prospects of our students have continued to rise despite the global recession

Named as The Times and The Sunday Times Sport University of the Year 2016

ONE OF THEWORLD’S TOP UNIVERSITIES

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2016

CEM

PS04

0

www.exeter.ac.uk/[email protected]

+44 (0)1392 726568

/CDTMetamaterials

@XM2_CDT