New Physics and Astronomy staff members in 2013
A round-up of new Physics and Astronomy staff members in 2013.
Dr. Ludovica Aperio Bella
Research Fellow
Ludovica's research focuses on the physics of fundamental particles and forces at high energies. After the completion of her graduate studies at the University of Roma Tre in Rome Ludovica Aperio Bella has recently completed her Ph.D on the ATLAS experiment at the Laboratoire d'Annecy-le-Vieux de Physique des Particules (LAPP). During the Ph.D Ludovica participated to almost all the activities related to the ATLASexperiment: commissioning of the detector, studies of the performance associated with reconstruction of physics objects and finally conducting a search for new physics phenomena. Moreover, she has spent part of the time during her Ph.D at CERN (European Laboratory for Particle Physics).
Kathleen Hynes
Project Manager
Kathleen joined the University in July 2007 and has managed large research projects in the Schools of Chemical Engineering and Clinical & Experimental Medicine. She previously worked as a Research Associate at the University of Northumbria for over 20 years. Kathleen joined the School of Physics & Astronomy in 2013.
Anna Kowalczyk
Research Fellow
Anna is involved in Dipolar Quantum Magnets project, where we want to employ ultra-cold atoms held in optical lattice to simulate magnetic materials. Previously she studied ultra-cold Rydberg atoms at The Open University, where she obtained her PhD.
Dr. Nadege Lagarde
Postdoctoral Researcher in Stellar Modelling
Nadege is a Research Fellow in the field of Stellar Modelling, devoting most of her time to study the impact of different transport processes of chemical elements and angular momentum, on the evolution of low and intermediate-mass stars and on the associated nucleosythesis, as well as their signatures on asteroseismic quantities, thanks to the Kepler and CoRoT missions.
Dr. Jensen Li
Senior Lecturer
Jensen Li recently joined the University of Birmingham as a Senior Lecturer, working on acoustic and electromagnetic metamaterials. He was previously an Assistant Professor in Hong Kong and is currently working closely with industry in turning various concepts of metamaterials into practical technologies, which will become important in the coming decade of this exciting research field.
Ramon Gonzalez Mendez
Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher within the PIMMS-ITN project in Molecular Physics
Ramon’s research focuses on the “Development and applications of Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry for Homeland Security: Trace Detection of threat agents”. His objective is to develop this new technique (PTR-MS) to improve the detection of drugs, explosives and other threat agents knowing their chemistry. His previous experience is related to his Analytical Chemistry studies at the University of Oviedo, and the use of different mass spectrometry techniques during his MSc in Anlytical and Bioanalytical Sciences. He has also worked in several companies in Spain related to the on-line quality control of the production.
Clemens Rammeloo
Marie Curie Early-Stage Research Associate on Mobile Gravity Gradiometer
After obtained a Master of Science degree in Applied Physics at the Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands, Clemens was looking for a position to continue research in the field of atomic and optical physics. This led him to the Cold Atoms Research group of Professor Kai Bongs where he is currently working as a Marie Curie Early-Stage Research Associate on a mobile gravity gradiometer.
Dr. Oleksand Tsyplyatyev
Research Fellow
Conducting research in theoretical physics with particular focus on the strong correlations in spin systems.
Dr. Felicia Ziparo
Postdoctoral Researcher in the Astrophysics and Space Research Group
Felicia completed her PhD at Max Planck Institute for Extra-terrestrial Physics in Garching bei Muenchen, Germany. During her PhD she investigated the role of environment in the star formation activity in groups and clusters of galaxies. Her role at Birmingham focuses on the weak lensing analysis of LoCuSS galaxy clusters and she is also involved in the supervision of PhD students.
Dr. Raquel Fernandez del Rio
Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher
I am working as a Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher within the PIMMS-ITN project at the Molecular Physics Department under the supervision of Dr Margaret O’Hara. The research project focuses on “Measurements of Volatile Organic Compounds in Breath as Diagnostic Biomarkers by Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry” (PTR-MS).
Other new staff include:
- Dr. Simone Bifani, Research Fellow in Particle Physics
- Ruth Chantry, Research Fellow
- Dr. Jessica Democles, Research Fellow
- Rasmus Handberg, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the HiROS Group
- Tony Price, Research Fellow
- Dr. Antonino Sergi, Research Fellow
- Eleanor Taylor, Teaching Support Administrator
- Dr. Jinlong Yin, Research Fellow
- Dr. Shazia Zafar, Research Fellow