Ultrafast Chemical Physics
in the city of Glasgow
The Ultrafast Chemical Physics (UCP) grouping in the city of Glasgow was set up by Prof Klaas Wynne and Dr Neil Hunt in 2008 with the aim to support ultrafast femtosecond spectroscopy studies at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde and beyond. The UCP grouping:
- Organises international research meetings such as UCP'08 and UCP'11 in collaboration with ultrafast spectroscopist in the UK
- Shares its equipment which has been funded by EPSRC and others in order to enhance research collaborations with academia and industry
This website describes the UCP group and its collaborators, the facilities available for carrying out femtosecond spectroscopy experiments, and the research meetings the UCP group organises.
News
27/4/12: PhD studentship available in crystal nucleation at Glasgow University with Klaas Wynne. Involves ultrafast spectroscopy or microscopy (or both!). Now also involves the Doctoral Training Centre associated with the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation.
18/4/12: Chemical reactions may take hours or days to complete but the underlying molecular motions take place on a femtosecond (1/1,000,000,000,000,000 second) timescale. The latest issue of PCCP (Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics), the top physical chemistry journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, is dedicated to such ultrafast chemical dynamics. The special issue was guest edited by Prof Klaas Wynne in the School of Chemistry at Glasgow University and his colleague Dr Neil Hunt at the University of Strathclyde. It is very loosely based on the Ultrafast Chemical Physics conference held in December 2011 and contains articles on topics as diverse as the use of femtosecond x-ray pulses for structure determination, gas phase reaction dynamics, structure in the liquid phase, proteins, etc. Special issue PCCP on Ultrafast Chemical Dynamics.
12/4/12: Glasgow University press release Funding boost for Ultrafast Chemical Physics.
29/3/12: Postdoctoral Research Associate opening.
Research Associate- Ref: 001765 - Salary: Grade 7 £31,948 – £35,938 per annum. A new research associate position is available for 1+2 years to work with Prof Klaas Wynne on an EPSRC-funded project to study the phenomenon of amorphous-to-amorphous liquid-liquid phase transitions. This will involve the use of a new (2012) confocal fluorescence microscope equipped with a thermal sample stage and fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) to study molecular environments in phase-separating pure liquids. The experimental work may also involve Raman microscopy, dynamic/static light scattering, and femtosecond laser spectroscopy. You are expected to carry out microscopy experiments on a range of liquids and to develop basic software tools for the analysis of microscopy images. The ability to work in a multidisciplinary environment with collaborators is essential. The successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to the formulation and submission of research publications and research proposals as well as help manage and direct this complex and challenging project.
The work will be carried out under the guidance of Prof Klaas Wynne in the Ultrafast Chemical Physics group in the School of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow (see http://www.chem.gla.ac.uk/staff/wynne/ and http://www.ultrachemphys.org/). The group has recently (2011) moved into newly refurbished laboratory space where a group of PhD students and postdocs carry out research using state-of-the-art lasers, microscopes, and other equipment.
This position has funding for 12 months in the first instance with an extension to a full 36 months possible. Apply online at www.glasgow.ac.uk/jobs (enter Reference Number 001765). Closing date: 29 April 2012
6/3/12: Grant success for the UCP grouping. The UCP grouping will get a £0.7M EPSRC grant to study the structure and dynamics of water confined in nanoscale pools. The work will be carried out in the ultrafast labs of Klaas Wynne (Glasgow University) and Neil Hunt (University of Strathclyde) and involves collaborations with Professor Fabio Bruni (Roma Tre University), Professor Francesco Mallamace (University of Messina), Professor H Eugene Stanley (Boston University), and Professor Casey Hynes (École Normale Supérieure and University of Colorado).
29/2/12: New laser can point the way to new energy harvesting. Grant success for UCP collaborator Prof Steve Meech at the University of East Anglia whi received a £0.4M EPSRC grant for a new ultrafast femtosecond laser system.
November 2011: Grant success for Wynne group at Glasgow University. EPSRC announced the funding of a grant to study liquid-liquid transitions usign microscopy methods. The work will be carried out in the ultrafast lab of Klaas Wynne (Glasgow University) and Jan Sefcik (Chemical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde) and involves collaborations with Professor Ken Seddon (Queen's University of Belfast) and Professor H Eugene Stanley (Boston University).
