Event Details

Joined by Dr Michael Thompson, Beth Murdock and Jade Li, the MSI will be hosting a blended seminar 1pm-2pm on Wed 15th Jun.

We have booked Bowland North Seminar Room 10 but we will also stream the event on Teams. A lunch will be provided so please notify Rachel (r.lyon@lancaster.ac.uk / msi@lancaster.ac.uk) if you intend to be there in person by Friday 10th June. Please also advise if you have any dietary requirements.

Dr Michael Thompson

Title: Using 2D-materials for low-temperature electronics

Abstract: The instruments for operating cryogenic quantum technologies are located outside the cryostat, at room temperature, where thermal noise can limit their performance. Using low temperature instruments, such as voltage or current amplifiers, we can dramatically reduce this thermal noise, by an order of magnitude or more, allowing us to better distinguish our target signal from the noisy background. Transistors are the key components of these amplifiers and are made using semiconductors that typically fail to operate at low temperatures, when impurities that enable their operation cease to function. Most current research in this area focuses on using commercially available transistors made from Si, SiGe or GaAs. My research aims to explore the use of two-dimensional materials (eg. Graphene, MoS2) for fabricating transistors for low-temperature electronics.

Bio: I completed my PhD at Lancaster in semiconductor optoelectronics, followed by several years of post-doctoral work during which I moved into low-temperature physics, working on graphene-based superconducting devices. In 2019 I was awarded a fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering to develop cryogenic transistors using 2D materials.

Beth Murdock & Jade Li

Title: Material Social Futures: Exploring the multifaceted relationship between technologically enabled and socially driven change

Abstract: Critical dimensions within materials development and social sciences are overlooked, such as social behaviours and energy use, respectively. The complementary nature of these research areas urges multifaceted problems to be tackled by multidisciplinary efforts. In this talk, we discuss the ‘bigger picture’ approach to material development, encouraged by the Material Social Futures CDT, with regards to sustainable battery materials and safer nuclear fuels.

Bio: Jade Li is a postgraduate research student in the Material Social Futures Doctoral Training Centre at Lancaster University. Belonging to both the Departments of Engineering and Languages and Cultures, she is interested in how the materialities of developing nuclear technologies inform social perspectives. Through an interdisciplinary lens, her research currently focusses on atomistic simulations of an accident tolerant fuel, as well as conducting an in-depth analysis on stakeholder perspectives of nuclear power using a discursive framework. From her research, she is interested in exploring speculative nuclear futures that focus on the intersection of nuclear materials and societies living with nuclear energy.

Bio: Beth Murdock is a PhD candidate working as part of the Material Social Futures CDT programme. Her research focuses on understanding the structure-property relationships in spinel-type cathodes for lithium-ion batteries using X-ray and neutron diffraction techniques whilst expanding the notion of research success beyond performance based-metrics.