About
I am a Professor of Materials Physics, Sêr Cymru National Research Chair and Director of the new Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials at Swansea University. I also hold an Honorary Professorship at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. My research interests lie in the area of sustainable advanced materials for applications such as solar energy, optoelectronics, and bioelectronics, plus advanced concepts in semiconductor heterogeneous integration and decarbonisation of semiconductor manufacturing. I was educated at Swansea University and Heriot-Watt University and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cavendish in Cambridge before taking up an industry role as a senior scientist with Proctor & Gamble.
Between 2001 and 2017 I was an academic at the University of Queensland and held several positions including Director of the Centre for Organic Photonics and Electronics and Director of UQ Solar. I was also an Australian Research Council Discovery Outstanding Researcher Award Fellow and played an active role in the development of the Queensland State Renewable Energy Target of 50% by 2030. I also co-founded 3 start-up companies during that time including XeroCoat and Brisbane Materials Technology. In 2017 I returned to Swansea to establish a research effort in the physics of sustainable advanced materials and that led to creation of the Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials. This £55M state-of-the-art research fab for semiconductor science and engineering supports our regional semiconductor industry and was completed in 2024. I have published > 270 papers with over 25,000 citations (H-index 75), graduated > 60 research students, and hold a patent portfolio of 32 filings. In 2013 I was honoured with the Premier of Queensland’s Award for Sustainability and in 2020 Awarded Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Services to Semiconductor Materials Research and Innovation. I am a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. I have previously and continue to serve on numerous boards and governing bodies including the EPSRC Strategic Advisory Network, UK SEMI (the UK semiconductor industry representative body), and the Advisor Board of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Semiconductors. [Profile Updated November 2024]