Lewis Baker
Supervised by Dr Scott Habershon and Dr Vasilios Stavros.
I graduated from the Physics BSc, MPhys degree at Warwick University in 2013, with first class honours. My final year project was within the area of Quantum Noise and Entanglement in Mesoscopic Conductors, supervised by Dr Nicholas d'Ambrumenil. In particular, we were interested in the feasibility of an on-demand source of entangled particles (electron-hole pairs) produced when (theoretically) applying a series of tailored Lorentzian voltage pulses to a mesoscopic conductor (like a quantum dot or quantum point contact).
I then completed the MOAC MSc in Mathematical biology and biophysical chemistry with distinction before continuing onto the PhD partition of the 4 year DTC program.
Quantum mechanics is without doubt one of the most successful theories to date with its ability to predict properties of systems with fantastic precision and has led to numerous technological advances, which would not have been possible without quantum theory. For example, MRI machines exploit the spin of protons in water to image the body noninvasively; semiconductors are used in most electronics, which are understood from condensed matter physics in terms of band gaps; the periodic table can be explained by the quantum numbers, which are derived from considerations of the Schrödinger equation. How about, Superfluidity, Superconductors and Bose-Einstein condensates? These properties are all explained through quantum mechanics, specifically quantum coherence. Needless to say, the list of applications of quantum mechanics is effectively non-exhaustive!
The field of quantum dynamics offers to extend our knowledge of a variety of problems which range from quantum computation, which tries exploiting the superposition of quantum states to provide vastly increased computational abilities; to understanding the light harvesting processes which take place in chloroplasts, which could help us to improve solar energy harvesting technology.
So where are my interests? Well, aside from generally being interest in most things quantum, I am interested in the manifestations of quantum mechanics in biological systems and energy transfer in biologically relevant molecules. More specifically, the underpinning theme of my PhD involves understanding energy transfer in small molecules like sun screens (energy dissipation), as well as larger systems like FMO (directed energy transfer).
Contact:
L dot Baker at warwick dot ac dot uk
