Seminar Speaker

Dr. Philip Murphy 

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 9 March, 2026

Title

Kindling the Silicon hearth with Quantum ripples

Abstract

Light, atomic vibrations, and electrons are all manifestations of waves. Their interactions not only reveal the nature of the world around us—they create its structure and give us the means to manipulate it at the most fundamental level. Our ability to understand and control materials stems directly from the physical phenomena that emerge within them.

One of the most powerful tools for uncovering and predicting these phenomena is first‑principles electronic structure theory. These methods allow us to describe not only the arrangement of atoms, but also how electrons respond to lattice vibrations, light, and defects. Modern computational techniques have advanced to the point where carefully designed calculations provide predictions that are not only qualitatively insightful, but quantitatively accurate. Such simulations offer access to properties that are difficult—or even impossible—to measure experimentally, enabling us to explore the behaviour of new or highly modified materials. In this way, quantum theory becomes a pathway from understanding to control, allowing us to shape the material world with unprecedented precision.

In this presentation, I will show how first‑principles calculations of electron interactions with vibrations and light reveal the microscopic mechanisms behind newly observed phenomena, and how a detailed understanding of a few key “wave‑scattering parameters” can predict pathways for substantial improvements in electronic and energy materials. I will emphasize how close collaboration between experiment and theory is essential for discovery. In particular, I will discuss our joint work on characterizing out‑of‑equilibrium materials—ranging from time‑resolved diffuse x‑ray scattering in photoexcited semiconductors to the recently uncovered negative differential resistance in germanium. I will also illustrate how these insights guide the design of improved thermoelectric materials for energy applications, and even how they enable the transformation of a nominally dark material into an efficient light emitter compatible with silicon‑based fabrication processes.

Seminar Speaker

Dr Evert Nasdekin 

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 2 March, 2026

Title

Observations to Atmospheres: How to Characterise a Distant World

Abstract

Atmospheres are complex, dynamic, physical systems, yet beyond the boundaries of our Solar System we have only just begun to understand their nature. JWST has revolutionised our understanding of directly imaged exoplanets and brown dwarfs, revealing the interplay between the chemistry, clouds, and dynamics that shape the observed emission spectrum. In this talk I will provide an overview of recent results in the study of extrasolar atmospheres, as we try to answer how these objects formed, and how they evolve over time. We will embark on a tour of nearby exoplanets and brown dwarfs: examining the composition of the four-planet system in HR 8799, the circumplanetary disk discovered around YSES 1-c, and the dynamically evolving atmosphere of SIMP-0136. With these case studies I will review our current methods for measuring the atmospheric properties of these objects, and discuss the current questions and challenges that the field faces.

Seminar Speaker

Dr Steve Campbell 

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 23 Feb, 2026

Title

A whistle-stop tour of quantum thermodynamics

Abstract

The steady interest in understanding the thermodynamics of quantum systems has led to several approaches to defining work and heat in a quantum mechanically consistent way. Quantum thermodynamics as a subfield has grown steadily in the last 15 years, revealing the impact that coherence can have on the energetics of quantum systems. I will initially aim to provide an overview of some of the major lines of inquiry in the field, briefly discussing commonly employed definitions of quantum work, its experimental measurement, and some proof-of-principle demonstrations of nano-scale quantum heat engines. We will then zero in on some exciting new directions that the community has begun to explore, as recently collated in Ref [1]. We will aim to touch on the full breadth of applications, ranging from the foundational aspects, e.g. information propagation and scrambling which lie at the interface of quantum information and high energy physics, to the practical ramifications of the theory, which is driving the design of energetically efficient quantum technologies.

[1] Roadmap on Quantum Thermodynamics, S. Campbell et al, arXiv:2504.20145 (to appear Quantum Sci. Technol. 2026)

Seminar Speaker

Jing Li

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 16 Feb, 2026

Title

Quantum control of interacting ultracold atoms for heat engines

Abstract

Quantum Heat Engines (QHEs) use quantum systems as working media to run thermodynamic cycles, and serve as a key platform to explore the fundamental limits and potential applications of quantum thermodynamics. Ultracold atomic systems such as Bose-Einstein condensates offer key advantages: high quantum coherence, tunable interatomic interactions, and precise, facile control, which make them an ideal system for the study of QHEs. In this talk, I will first outline recent advances in QHE research, then focus on the methods for fast, high-fidelity manipulation of quantum states—a key step for stable and efficient QHE operation. Finally, I will present concrete examples to show how typical quantum effects (e.g., spin-orbit coupling and nonlinear atomic interactions) modulate QHE performance such as efficiency and power output, and share the insights from these studies for the development of related quantum technologies.

Seminar Speaker

Ciaran Hickey 

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 9 Feb, 2026

Title

Quantum Matter beyond Linear Response

Abstract

Many of the most important and widespread techniques in use today in probing many-body systems can be understood within the conventional framework of linear response. Simply put, when you perturb the system the response is proportional to the strength of the perturbation. However, though incredibly powerful, linear response can sometimes be blind to the underlying physics at play, unable to distinguish between different potential possibilities. One of the most exciting recent developments in pushing beyond this linear response regime has been the advent of non-linear spectroscopy as a tool to study quantum many-body systems. In this talk, I will discuss how non-linear response can be used to reveal new, preciously inaccessible information of interest, focusing on quantum magnets as an example.

Seminar Speaker

Lynette Keeney 

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 19 Jan, 2026

Title

Routes to Multiferroicity and Emergent Topological States in Layered Oxide Thin Films

Abstract

Single-phase multiferroics, which combine ferroelectric and ferromagnetic order in a single material, offer powerful new routes to data manipulation and storage while opening opportunities for exploring unconventional chemistry and physics. Yet, such materials remain exceptionally scarce due to the classic incompatibility between the d⁰ electronic configurations that favour ferroelectricity and the dⁿ configurations required for ferromagnetism. In our work, we demonstrated a rare example of a room-temperature magnetoelectric multiferroic through the design of a new layered Aurivillius compound, Bi₆Ti_xFe_yMn_zO₁₈ (B6TFMO; x =  2.80 to 3.04; Y = 1.32 to 1.52; Z = 0.54 to 0.64). By judiciously combining A-site Bi³⁺ cations with mixed B-site species (Ti⁴⁺, Fe³⁺, Mn^3+/4+), we stabilised ferroelectric and ferromagnetic order within a single structural phase.

More recently, we uncovered remarkable polar topological structures that emerge near naturally occurring disruptions in the B6TFMO layering. These structural discontinuities: out-of-phase boundary (OPB) defects, locally modify elastic strain and electrostatic energy landscapes, producing strongly inhomogeneous polarisation fields. Atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy and polar-displacement mapping reveal nominally charged domain walls and continuous rotations of the polarisation vector, giving rise to exotic polar vortex-like configurations. These previously “hidden” topologies arise intrinsically, without engineered interfaces or external strain tuning.

Density functional theory and aberration-corrected microscopy confirm that OPB defects act as local symmetry-breaking centres, generating polar discontinuities and complex ferroic textures. However, uncontrolled defect propagation leads to variability in OPB defect type and density, motivating systematic defect-engineering strategies. To this end, B6TFMO thin films were grown by chemical vapour deposition on vicinal sapphire substrates with controlled miscut angles (0.2°–10°). X-ray diffraction and STEM show that increasing the miscut enhances OPB defect density, which directly impacts ferroelectric domain size, polarisation orientation, and switching behaviour. By further tuning supersaturation during growth, we induce spiral-like growth features in which OPB defects delineate the edges of pyramidal growth features. These defect-mediated modifications lead to local symmetry lowering, strain redistribution, and a four-fold reduction in the minimum vertical switching voltage.

These findings highlight OPB defects as powerful, intrinsic drivers of topological ferroic states in layered multiferroics. The resulting two-dimensional polar textures possess characteristic length scales of ~5 nm, far smaller than those of magnetic analogues (10–100 nm), providing a pathway to ultracompact, energy-efficient information storage and next-generation nanoelectronic and spintronic technologies.

Seminar Speaker

Ingrid Pelisoli

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 24 Nov, 2025

Title

White dwarf pulsars and (possibly) related objects

Abstract

White dwarf stars are the most common outcome of stellar evolution. About a third of them are found in binary systems, reflecting the fact that multiplicity is frequent amongst stars. One of the most remarkable white dwarf binary systems identified to date is AR Scorpii, which is composed of a red dwarf star and a rapidly spinning, magnetised white dwarf in a 3.56-hour orbit. It shows strongly pulsed emission on the white dwarf spin period of 2 minutes over a broad range of wavelengths, from radio to X-rays, which led to it being known as a white dwarf pulsar. However, unlike neutron star pulsars, where no companion is required, it is understood that binary interaction is what triggers AR Sco’s pulses. Despite its fascinating characteristics, AR Sco remained for several years the only known system of its kind, preventing us from testing the models that could explain its formation and observed properties. In this talk, I will present the discovery of two new white dwarf pulsars that have established the existence of these systems as a class and discuss their possible connection with another intriguing new class of systems, long-period radio transients.

Seminar Speaker

Dr. Katarzyna Komolibus 

Dr. Katarzyna Komolibus is a senior researcher in the Biophotonics team at Tyndall National Institute. She received her MSc in Electronics and Telecommunications from Wroclaw University of Technology (2011) and her PhD in Applied Physics and Instrumentation from Cork Institute of Technology (2016). After joining Prof. Stefan Andersson-Engels’ Biophotonics@Tyndall group in 2017, she worked on optics-based surgical guidance and tissue imaging using upconverting nanoparticles. Between 2021 and 2023, she was a senior R&D biophotonics engineer at Rockley Photonics, developing silicon-photonics-based wearable sensors for health care monitoring. She now leads a sub-team at Tyndall advancing multimodal spectroscopy for diagnostic and surgical guidance applications in collaboration with clinicians and industry.

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 17 Nov, 2025

Title

Light Matters: Exploring Light-Tissue Interactions for Biophotonic Applications

Abstract

Light provides a uniquely rich window into biology and medicine, enabling us to visualise and sense physiological processes in real time. This talk will present an overview of our research in biophotonics, spanning from translational optical diagnostics to fundamental studies of light–matter interactions in nanomaterials. I will introduce work ranging from diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging to emerging approaches that integrate machine learning for diagnostic insights. The main focus will be on our investigations of upconverting nanoparticles—exploring their nonlinear optical behavior, energy transfer dynamics, and potential for deep-tissue imaging and optical diagnostics. Together, these studies bridge applied biomedical optics and fundamental photo-physics, advancing the quantitative and technological frontiers of biophotonics.

Seminar Speaker

Dr Javier Porte Parera

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 10 Nov, 2025

Title

Photonic Extreme Learning Machines based on Chip-Scale Chaotic Microresonators.

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a surge in the demand for machine learning and artificial intelligence systems with the list of applications ever increasing. Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are a promising platform for implementing hardware-based neural networks because of their compact size, low power consumption and scalability. A particularly well suited computing architecture for PICs are extreme learning machines (ELMs). In photonic ELMs, a feed-forward randomly interconnected neural network expands the input information’s dimensionality and approximates complex classification tasks with only training the readout connections. Here, I review the state of the art in photonic ELMs and I introduce a photonic integrated implementation based on polymer chaotic microresonators. 

Seminar Speaker

Prof. Jerry Moloney 

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 13 Oct, 2025

Title

Microscopic Physics Driven Design of 3D and Quasi-2D Semiconducting Materials.
 

Abstract

In this talk, I will describe how a systematic inclusion of Hartree-Fock field and energy
renormalization terms together with higher order correlations, account for all
microscopic processes involved in light-semiconductor interactions. The theory will be
shown to provide a one-to-one agreement with gain measurements across many
classes of semiconductor quantum well materials and establishes the limitations of the
famous ABC laws that phenomenologically account respectively for defect,
spontaneous emission radiative and Auger losses. My talk will include examples of
experiments on a broad class semiconductor disk lasers where the microscopic theory
was used to design a host of novel CW and mode-locked laser sources with
applications to compact extreme UV, room temperature tunable THz, artificial Guidestar,
offset-free mid-IR frequency comb and angle tunable multi-wavelength sources.
Recently, the theory was extended to a novel class of quasi-2D Transition Metal
Dichalcogenide (TMDC) materials that exhibit huge hundreds of meV bandgap
renormalization and haveprominent room temperature excitonic features.  Recent high field
physics applications include many-body enhancement of high harmonic generation in
these materials with plans to extend to topologically nontrivial materials.

Seminar Speaker

Dr Lewis Prole

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 29 Sept, 2025

Title

Astrophysical versus Primordial Black Holes 

Abstract

The recent discovery that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) exist in the very early Universe has caused tensions with the Standard Cosmological Model, as theorists have struggled to explain how these objects became so massive in such a short period of time. This seminar will discuss current attempts to model SMBHs formation through astrophysical processes (such as star formation and direct collapse black holes), before considering the exotic possibility that some/all of what we call 'dark matter' is actually made up of primordial black holes (PBHs) which have existed since the time of the big bang.

Seminar Speaker

Gerard Higgins

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 15 Sept, 2025

Title

Hunting for Dark Matter using Levitated Superconductors

Abstract

Recent advances in precision measurements with mechanical oscillators are enabling new tests of fundamental physics. They allow quantum physics to be probed using relatively large masses, and they open new avenues for dark matter detection. We are developing ultrasensitive mechanical sensors based on magnetically levitated superconductors. This platform is promising because the motion of the millimetre-scale superconductors can be (i) precisely probed using superconducting quantum circuits and (ii) highly isolated from environmental noise, thanks to levitation in near-dissipationless traps, under ultrahigh vacuum, at millikelvin temperatures.

Our sensors will probe a range of dark matter models in unexplored parameter regimes. With continued progress, our platform may enable a gravity-based search for dark matter in the laboratory, offering an exciting new avenue for discovery.

Seminar Speaker

Matthew Hopkins 

Venue

Room G06, Kane Science Building, UCC

Time/Date 

4pm / Monday, 8 Sept, 2025

Title

The Galactic Interstellar Object Population 

Abstract

Sourced from distant planetary systems and forming a huge Galaxy-spanning population, the properties of interstellar objects (ISOs) depend on processes across a range of astrophysical scales. This population plays an active role in Galactic life, potentially seeding planet formation in protoplanetary disks and causing fast radio bursts in collisions with neutron stars. With the imminent Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) set to increase our sample of known ISOs by an order of magnitude, I will present a predicted chemodynamical model of the ISO population derived using the Gaia stellar survey and models of protoplanetary disk chemistry, along with a simulation of ISO discoveries in the LSST. I predict that the Galactic ISO population has a complex velocity distribution which is correlated with both chemical composition and age, and that these features will be retained in the sample discovered by the LSST. Furthermore, the discoverability simulation shows that the LSST will find 5-50 ISOs over 10 years, and constrain the size frequency distribution slope of ISOs with just a few discovered objects. These results mean that the Rubin ISO sample can be used to test models of planetesimal formation, Galactic evolution, and tidal stream formation.