CMMPE - University of Cambridge

Prof. Harry Coles - (Director of CMMPE)

Ext. 48344, Room 111, Email: hjc37

Professor Harry Coles is Head of the Molecular Materials for the Photonics Group and Director of the Centre of Molecular Materials for Photonics and Electronics. Research includes work on the optical, nonlinear optical, electrical and magnetic properties of a wide range of liquid crystals. Specific research interests are: Liquid Crystal Physics, Linear and Nonlinear Optics, Photonic Devices and Displays, Ferroelectrics, Flexoelectricity, Photochromics, Diffractive and Holographic Elements, Waveguide couplers, Quasi and Adaptive Optics, Raman and Correlation Spectroscopy, X-Ray Scattering, Electro-optics and Dielectric Studies, new materials. Prof. Coles is also a fellow of St. Catharine's College and is Director of Studies for Physics, Part II and III.

Dr. Timothy Wilkinson - (Reader)

Ext. 48353, Room 107, Email: tdw13, personal website

Tim Wilkinson (CEng) received his BE (Elec.) from Canterbury University, New Zealand (1989) and his PhD from Magdalene College, Cambridge (1994). He is currently a Reader in Photonic Engineering in the Engineering Department and a fellow of Jesus College. He has been working in the field of free-space optics, devices and systems for over 15 years. He developed the binary phase-only matched filter (BPOMF) and 1/f joint transform correlators during this PhD, and has since filed several patents and authored and co-authored over seventy refereed journal papers on optical applications, processing and devices. Recent research has involved applications of holographic technology including adaptive optical interconnects, optical pattern recognition and display applications for novel liquid crystal electro-optic devices, and he has given several invited talks at major conferences, including FLC 2001 and MRS Fall Meeting 2004. In 2001 he was awarded the Ben Sturgeon prize by the SID for his work in display technology. He is currently responsible for spatial light modulator (SLM) and liquid crystal device fabrication in the Engineering Department, running a class 100/1000 liquid crystal device fabrication unit. He was a member of the ROSES project fabricating LCOS SLMs and is an investigator on the ADOPSI, THORNS, MOPs, INSTANT, COSMOS, ASH3D and PLOHP projects.

Postdoctoral Research Staff

Dr. Flynn Castles

Ext. 48366, Room 13, Email: fc252, personal website

Flynn studied theoretical physics as an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge (BA & MSci, Natural Sciences, 2006; MA, 2009). He received a PhD, also from the University of Cambridge, for research at CMMPE. As a Research Associate he is currently working with a major industrial partner to develop novel display devices for use in flat panel TVs. His research interests broadly concern liquid crystals, specifically fleoxelectricity in liquid crystals and liquid crystal blue phases.

Dr. Damian Gardiner

Ext. 48366, Room 127, Email: djg47

Damian received his MPhys degree in Physics from Southampton University (2001). Subsequently, Damian worked at the Space Department, Qinetiq Ltd., before moving to Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, where he received his PhD degree. His doctoral thesis was focussed on organosiloxane based bistable materials for use in displays and other applications. Following his PhD, Damian worked at Cambridge Display Technology Ltd., developing organic electroluminescent and photovoltaic systems. After joining the group in February 2008, Damian is currently working on the DTI funded hybrid electroluminescent liquid-crystal 2 (ELLC 2) project in collaboration with Pelikon Ltd.

Dr. Philip Hands

Ext. 48308, Room 13, Email: pjwh4, personal website

Phil has an MSci in Physics (1999) and a PhD in Condensed Matter Physics (2003), both from Durham University. His PhD studied the quantum tunnelling conduction mechanisms in metal-polymer composites and their applications in array-based chemical vapour sensing (electronic noses). He also has postdoctoral experience at the Centre for Advanced Instrumentation, Durham University, in the fabrication and applications of adaptive liquid crystal devices. In particular he developed adaptive lenses for applications in 3D displays, optical tweezing and adaptive optics for astronomy. He is currently employed on the COSMOS project, developing the performance and applications of chiral nematic liquid crystal lasers. He is also responsible for the design and maintenance of the COSMOS and CMMPE group websites. Phil is a College Research Associate (CRA) at Jesus College.

Dr. Qasim Malik

Ext. 48366 (office), 48274 (lab), Room 127, Email: qmm20

Qasim obtained an MSc in Chemistry (2000) from Quaid-I-Azam University Islamabad (Pakistan) researching natural product synthesis (Isocumarine and its dihydro-derivatives). This was followed by his MPhil in Organic Chemistry (2002) from the same institute. The research project was based on synthesis of mesogens comprising of Schiff's base analogues derived from benzyl amine derivatives. He was then appointed a lecturer in Chemistry at APSC Rawalpindi. In 2008 he received his PhD in Chemistry from Macquarie University Sydney (Australia). His PhD involved the synthesis and characterisation of liquid crystal molecules possessing chiral scaffold analogues e.g. Tröger's base. The investigations of these chiral bent cores were carried out on the bases of their substitution patterns, simultaneous resolution and the methodologies to evolve as mesogens through covalent and hydrogen bonding interactions. The characterisations of the resultant molecules were carried out by means of NMR, DSC and hot-stage polarised microscopy studies. Qasim joined CMMPE in June 2008 and is working on the COSMOS project in synthesis and characterisation of materials leading to devices and lasing liquid crystals in general.

Dr. Stephen Morris

Ext. 48308, Room 13, Email: smm56

Stephen read Physics and Space Science at Southampton University, where he obtained a Masters degree in Physics, before coming to Cambridge to study for a PhD in Liquid Crystal Photonics at the Department of Engineering. After completing his PhD in 2005, Stephen continued as a Research Associate at CMMPE working in collaboration with an industrial partner to produce a new hybrid display, which can be viewed in both low light and high light level environments. At present, he is currently involved in the Basic Technology Programme COSMOS which is aimed at developing miniature tunable laser light sources for next generation displays and photonics applications. Stephen is also a Fellow of St. Catharine’s College and Director of Studies for Physics Part IA.

Dr. Ranjith Rajesekharan

Ext. 48365, Room 127, Email: rr300

Ranjith obtained his Masters degree from Cochin University of Science and Technology, India. He then was working for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as a scientist/engineer before coming to Cambridge in 2007 for a PhD, which he completed in 2011. His area of interest is in the development of novel electro-optic sensors, and he continues at CMMPE as a research associate. Ranjith is also a member of Darwin College.

Katie Atkinson

Ext. 48366, Room 127, Email: ka298

Katie graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2009 wih a BA and MSci in Physics. She participated in the Cambridge-MIT exchange from 2007-2008. In 2010 she joined CMMPE as a PhD student. Katie is a member of St. Catharine's College.

Christoph Bay

Ext. 48365, Room 127, Email: cb459

Christoph has a Dipl. Ing. (FH) in Electronics (2006) from Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences (Germany). During his undergraduate studies he specialised in communication electronics. He gained industrial experience while performing internships at DaimlerChrysler (Stuttgart, Germany), Bosch (Buehl, Germany) and Osram Opto Semiconductors (San Jose, USA and Penang, Malaysia). His PhD is in the research area of photonics. The specific task is, to develop a holographic optical projection system which can be used to expose a photoresist in a photolithographic processes. This is a CAPE funded project. Christoph is also a member of Jesus College.

Haider Butt

Ext. 48365, Room 127, Email: hb319

Haider did his BEng (hons) in Telecommunication Engineering from National University FAST, Pakistan (2007). He has a background in electromagnetic modelling of electronic devices using commercial software. During his MPhil research at the University of Cambridge (CMMPE) (2007) he worked on the modelling of electro-optical devices. Currently as a PhD student, Haider is characterizing carbon nanotubes as optical antennas. His research objective is to use periodic arrays of carbon nanotubes for optical beam steering. This project is funded by Professor Gehan Amaratunga's research grant. Haider is also a member of Hughes Hall College.

Joel Carpenter

Ext. 48365, Room 127, Email: jac240

Joel obtained his BEng (Hons) [Computer Systems], BSc [Physics] and MEng [Microwave Telecommunications] from The University of Queensland, Australia. Prior to joining the CMMPE he worked as a research assistant on the UQ/MIT iLab project and as a Microwave Design Engineer for Codan Limited. His PhD research attempts to improve the transmission capacities of multi-mode fibers using holographic techniques. Joel is a member of Fitzwilliam College.

Qing Dai

Ext. 48365, Room 127, Email: qd205

Qing graduated from Imperial College, London with an MEng in Electronic & Electrical Engineering (2007). In 2008 he joined the CMMPE group as a PhD student, and his research is concerned with applications of carbon nanotubes, especially for liquid-crystal photonic devices. He is also a member of Queens’ College.

Feng Feng

Ext. 48365, Room 127, Email: ff263

Feng obtained his BSc degree in Telecommunication Engineering from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT), China (2009). During his undergraduate degree, he gained industrial experience with an internship in China Network Communications Corporation, and was a research assistant in the PCN&CAD research group in the School of Electronic Engineering, BUPT. After his undergraduate degree, he joined the CMMPE group as a PhD student, and his research attempts to build an indoor optical wireless communication system with specially designed laser and holographic techniques. He is a member of Fitzwilliam Collage

Jiahui Lu

Ext. 48365, Room 127, Email: jl424

Jiahui graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2008 with a BA in Information and Computer Engineering and an MEng in Information and Electrical Sciences. She joined the CMMPE group in the same year and is now studying for a PhD. Her current research is on ophthalmic imaging systems focusing on adaptive wavefront sensor technology and the use of adaptive liquid crystal lenses. She is a Christ's College alumni and a current member of Churchill College.

Themis Mavrogordatos

Ext. 48365, Room 127, Email: ttm22

Themis graduated from the National Technical University of Athens in 2009 with a degree in Electrical Engineering (Telecommunications direction). He joined the CMMPE group a year later whilst completing his MRes in Photonics Systems Development. His interests revolve around Fourier Optics and Liquid Crystal Lasers. Both these fields are directly linked to his PhD project he has recently undertaken, under the supervision of Tim Wilkinson. His other interests include physics, music and chess. Themis is a member of Jesus College.

Yunuen Montelongo

Ext. 48365, Room 127, Email: ym283 personal website

Yunuen obtained a BSc in Physics in 2006 from the University of Guanajauto (Mexico). He also specialized in optoelectronics at CIO (Mexico) with exchange programs in the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) and HASYLAB (Germany). In 2010 he graduated from the University of Dundee (UK) with a MSc in Display Technologies. He has had industrial experience working in the design of organic semiconductor transistors at Plastic Logic Ltd (Cambridge). Currently, as a PhD student, Yunuen is studying holographic techniques for projection proposes. Yunuen is also a member of Fitzwilliam Collage.

Ananta Palani

Ext. 48365, Room 127, Email: ap648

Ananta received his BS (Hons) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno, USA (2008) and his MS (Hons) in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Georgia, USA (2010). In 2010 Ananta joined the CMMPE group at the University of Cambridge to research for a PhD in Electrical Engineering focused on photonics and optical computing. Ananta is also a member of Trinity Hall.

Shunyi Tan

Ext. 48365, Room 127, Email: st426

Tan received his Masters Degree in Micro and Solid Electronics from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (2007). He joined CMMPE in 2007, and his PhD research topic is on 3D displays, developing new display systems that can achieve high quailty 3D images.

Kanghee (James) Won

Ext. 48365, Room 127, Email: kw320

Kanghee (James) Won did an MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacturing and Management at the University of Cambridge. During his master's course in the Centre for Industrial Photonics, his research included work on a new brightness Yb fibre laser on a silicon wafer. After completing his master's degree, he joined the CMMPE group in October 2008 for a PhD, and he is currently working on hybrid liquid crystal CNT devices, focusing on understanding how these electro-optical devices work with LCs, and finding the optimal device configuration for suitable applications. Kanghee is also member of Sidney Sussex College.

CMMPE group members

Academic Staff