Dr Gavin Bell

Research

I work in materials physics and lead the Surface, Interface & Thin Film Group at Warwick. The focus of my research is the growth by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of novel materials, applying the techniques of surface science to understand epitaxial crystal growth. These material systems include semiconductor / ferromagnet interfaces for spintronics, self-assembled nanostructures, 2D materials such as graphene, and advanced photocathode materials for operation in inert gas atmosphere and in vacuum. As well as exploring the growth of such materials, I characterise their fundamental properties using a variety of techniques (e.g. photoemission, diffraction) and collaborate with other research groups and companies to apply them in advanced technologies (e.g. spintronic devices, sensors, quantum communications). I have an interest in applying theoretical technqiues such as density functional theory (DFT) and kinetic Monte Carlo simulation to understand the properties and growth of materials and nano-structures. I work in several multi-group and external collaborations, and use a variety of central facilities such as synchrotron radiation sources. With Dr. Yorck Ramachers, I am developing ultra-violet light detectors, combining thin-film growth and surface science with electron multiplier technology originally developed at CERN.

Teaching and other activities

I teach the core second year course on Quantum Mechanics and lead the first year Electronics Workshop. I usually offer final year undergraduate projects either in theory/computation (typically based on DFT) or experiment (typically thin film growth and analysis). On the postgraduate side, I am a former Admissions Tutor and MPAGS Academic Coordinator, and I run two MPAGS modules in Nano/Surface Science and Hands-on Vacuum Science. I am the first member of staff in Physics to become a Fellow of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy. I developed the interdisciplinary Science of Music module with Warwick's Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning IATL as part of an Academic Fellowship called Science, Maths and Music. A Warwick-Monash Masterclass video is available about this course.

I am a member of the Institute of Physics (IoP) and Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society. I review research proposals for EPSRC, the Royal Society, Agence Nationale de Recherche, and Warwick schemes (e.g. IAS and URSS). I review article submissions for many journals such as Physical Review and Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter. I was awarded a Certificate of Outstanding Contribution in Reviewing in 2015 by Applied Surface Science and my full journal review record can be found on Publons. I am an Editor of Solid State Communications.

I am involved in the organisation of numerous scientific meetings and conferences. For example, I co-developed the international conference series SemiconNano and co-organised a symposium on Epitaxial integration of dissimilar materials: challenges and fundamentals at EMRS, Spring 2018.