Dermot Green

Dermot is a Reader in Theoretical Physics and a research group leader at Queen’s University Belfast. He is principal investigator of the European Research Council grant “ANTI-ATOM” (2019-2024). See below for a brief CV.

Contact

Office 01.016 Old Physics (Lanyon Building)
Centre for Light-Matter Interactions
School of Mathematics and Physics
Queen’s University Belfast
Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

d.green [AT] qub.ac.uk

Office Telephone:
UK: 028 90 97 1935
Intl: +44 28 90 97 1935

Brief CV

2018 —    Reader in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, and Principal Investigator for the ERC-STG project ANTI-ATOM.
2015 — 2019  EPSRC Fellow in Theoretical Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
2013 — 2015  Research associate in the ultracold theory group of Jeremy Hutson FRS and (the first) Junior Research Fellow in the Sciences of Hatfield College, Durham University, United Kingdom.  
2012 — 2013  Research Fellow, Centre for Plasma Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
2010  Visiting Fellow, Harvard University Physics Department, based at the Institute of Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (ITAMP), Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, USA. 
2008 — 2011  PhD, Theoretical Atomic Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
2004 — 2008  1st class MPhys University of Oxford, as Theobald Scholar of Balliol College, Oxford, United Kingdom, and a first-generation university student.
1997 — 2004  Belfast Royal Academy Grammar School, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

I obtained my PhD 15 December 2011. I have had ~ 10 months of career breaks, plus significant disruption to research activities from March 2020 due to increased childcare and caring responsibilities as a result of COVID impact.

Selected prizes, awards and research funding

2019   Institute of Physics Sir David Bates prize.
2018   Queen’s University Belfast Vice-Chancellor’s Research Prize.
2018   European Research Council Starting Grant (EUR1.32M).
2018   EPSRC UK Early-Career Fellowship (~£900k, declined).
2017    “ICPEAC Sheldon Datz Prize”, for outstanding young scientist in atomic physics (selected by the international committee of the International Conference on Photonic, Electronic and Atomic Collisions), awarded in Sheldon Datz plenary session at ICPEAC XXX, Cairns, Australia
2015   EPSRC UK Postdoctoral Fellowship in Theoretical Physics (£260k).
2015   Leverhulme Trust Early-Career Fellowship (declined).
2013 — 2015   (The first) Junior Research Fellowship in the Sciences, Hatfield College, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom.
2010   Institute of Physics Rosse medal for graduate research communication.
2010   Visiting Fellowship, Harvard University, USA, based at ITAMP, Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, USA.
2005 — 2008  Theobald Scholarship, Balliol College, University of Oxford (elected by the Fellows, for academic excellence in Physics)

Commissions of Trust

Currently:

Previously

Selected talks at international conferences and academic institutions

    • [Invited] International Conference on Electron Capture in an environment – real
      experiments and models (ICECream), Tübingen, Germany 2024 (upcoming, September 2024).
    • [Invited] Jagiellonian Symposium on Advances in Particle Physics and Medicine (Krakow, Poland, July 2024)]
    • [Invited] DAMOP, USA 2024 (upcoming, June 2024).
    • [Invited] CCP9 (Collaborative Computational Project in Electronic Structure), Chester, UK, March 2024.
    • [Plenary] The International Workshop on Positron and Positronium Physics (POSMOL 2023), Notre Dame, USA, flagship biennial). (EPJD sponsored Plenary talk)
    • [Invited] The International Conference on Photonic, Atomic and Electronic Collisions (ICPEAC 2023, flagship biennial).
    • [Plenary] The 2022 International Conference on Positron Annihilation (Helsinki/virtual), flagship triennial, plenary talk.
    • DAMOP 2022, American Physical Society’s 53rd meeting of the Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics community (international conference, talk in the memorial session for Richard Drachman).
    • [Invited] GEC 2021: the 74th International Gaseous Electronics Conference (invited talk).
    • [Invited] DAMOP 2021, American Physical Society’s 52nd meeting of the Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics community (international conference, invited talk).
    • [Invited] The XX International Workshop on Low-Energy Positron and Positronium Physics (POSMOL 2019), Belgrade, Serbia (Invited talk).
    • The International Conference on Atomic and Molecular Data and Their Applications (ICAMDATA 2018), Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Harvard University, USA, Nov. 2018.
    • [Invited] The (triennial) International Conference on Positron Annihilation (ICPA 2018), Orlando Florida, USA, Aug. 2018 (Invited talk).
    • [Invited] The International Conference on Photonic, Electronic and Atomic Collisions (ICPEAC XXX), Cairns, Queensland, Australia, Jul. 2017 (Invited ‘Special Report’)
    • EGAS 2017 (49th conference of the European Group on Atomic Systems), Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom, Jul 2017.
    • [Invited] International workshop on Quantum Systems in Chemistry, Physics, and Biology (QSCP-XXI), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, Jul. 2016 (Invited talk).
    • [Invited] International Conference on Positron Annihilation (ICPA-17), Wuhan, China, Sep. 2015 (Invited Talk).
    • [Invited] Dept. of Physics, Swansea University, United Kingdom, Apr. 2015 (Invited Talk).
    • [Invited] Dept. of Chemistry, Cambridge University, United Kingdom, Oct. 2014 (Invited Talk).
    • QuAMP 2013, Swansea University, United Kingdom Sep. 2013.
    • Institute of Physics Atomic Molecular interactions Group (AMIG) meeting, NUI Maynooth 2013.
    • [Invited] United Kingdom Positron Physics workshop, Queen’s University Belfast, Mar. 2013 (Invited Talk).
    • Inaugural International workshop of Positrons in Astrophysics, Murren, Switzerland, 2012.
    • EGAS 2011, (43rd Congress of the European Group on Atomic Systems), Fribourg, Switzerland, 2011.
    • [Invited] PSPA 10 (39th Polish Seminar on Positron Annihilation), Kasimierz Dolny, Poland, Jun. 2010 (Invited).

Directing research group/PhD supervision

Dermot has directed the research of the following QUB Research Fellows:
Dr Brian Cunningham (2019-present); awarded QUB Postdoctoral Research Prize 2023.
Dr Andrew Swann (2021-2022); now undertaking postgraduate certificate in education.
Dr Charlie Rawlins (2019-2021); now a 4-year Research Fellow in QUB Mathematics.

Dermot supervises the following PhD students:
Jack Cassidy (thesis submission due date 2024)
Sarah Gregg (thesis submission due date 2024)

Alumni:
Dermot has supervised the following PhD students:
Dr Jaroslav Hofierka, graduated PhD QUB 2023; subsequently Postdoctoral Research Associate at Heidelberg University with Prof Lorenz Cederbaum).
Dr David Waide, graduated PhD QUB 2023 (co-supervised with Gleb Gribakin); subsequently Postdoctoral Research Associate at Trinity College Dublin.
Dr Chris Emerson (second supervisor; primary supervisor Prof J. Coulter, QUB Pharmacy); subsequently Celerion Clinical Trials – Data programmer

Dermot has also supervised MSci, MMath and BSc undergraduate research project students, yearly since 2015.

Lecturing, other governance and academic duties

I hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and am a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. In 2020 I was awarded a 2020 QUB Teaching award for the development of innovative technologies and an effective connected learning environment.

Lecturing: QUB Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics

Most recently I lecture ~200 undergraduates in mathematics/applied mathematics and theoretical physics, covering mathematical methods including an introduction to calculus in 3D: see Lightboard Lectures on my YouTube channel

I also take small group tutorials and am Adviser of Studies for a number of international students.

Previously I’ve lectured 3rd and 4th year undergraduate masters students on Tensor field theory (tensor algebra, special relativity and covariant electromagnetism. Lectures on my YouTube channel); Advanced quantum theory; and Advanced numerical analysis.

Other

Dermot was born and raised in the Cavehill area of north Belfast. He attended Belfast Royal Academy grammar school, where numerous teachers inspired him in mathematics and the sciences. In his youth he captained Star of the Sea football club, about which Andrew Lloyd Weber wrote a musical! He married his “high-school sweetheart” and they now have three children, whom he adores and spends every second possible with.