NUSTEM draws on the expertise of a wide range of academics from Northumbria University and beyond, including:
Physics and Electrical Engineering
Dr. Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar
Lecturer, Physics and Electrical Engineering
Rodrigo joined Northumbria in 2013. He graduated as a Doctor in Physics from the University of Barcelona in 2009, then moved to Oxford University as a Marie Curie Fellow in the department of Theoretical Physics. More recently, he worked as a postdoc in the Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics.
His teaching interests lie in soft condensed matter physics: fluid mechanics, statistical physics, and mathematics.
Dr. Gary Wells
Anniversary Research Fellow, Physics and Electrical Engineering
Gary joined Northumbria in 2013. He gained his PhD in Physics from Nottingham Trent University in 2009, where he won the Sharp, SID 2009, best student award for his work on wrinkling liquid surfaces using dielectrophoresis forces.
Prior to joining Northumbria he worked in the displays laboratory at Hewlett Packard in Bristol, as a Devices and Materials Researcher.
Dr. Neil Beattie
Senior Lecturer, Physics and Electrical Engineering
I am a condensed matter experimental physicist that specialises in low-dimensional semiconductor devices.
After gaining a degree in physics from the University of Strathclyde, I joined the Semiconductor Physics group at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge to study for a PhD. During this period I received an industrial CASE award from Toshiba Research Europe to investigate quantum dots for use as single photon detectors. Following my PhD, I was employed by Innovia Technology in Cambridge and worked on a wide range of projects for clients that included Shell, Rolls-Royce, NIKE and Boeing. I joined Northumbria University to work on photovoltaics in 2009.
Computer Science and Digital Technologies
Dr. Becky Strachan
Associate Dean, Business and Engagement
Becky studied Chemistry at the University of Sheffield, then worked for Friends of the Earth before returning to academia for an MSc in Computer Studies at Sheffield Polytechnic. She worked as a programmer before completing a PhD at Leeds in 1991.
She joined Northumbria in a senior management capacity, in 2008.
Opeyemi Dele-Ajayi
Research Assistant, PhD Student in Computing
Opeyemi is a senior research assistant for NUSTEM. He focuses on the analysis and evaluation of the secondary school data to inform the level of science capital amongst young people in the North East of England. He is also PhD researcher in the Faculty of Engineering and Environment at Northumbria University. His research focus is on how serious games can be used to create an engaging learning experience in primary schools in Nigeria. His other research interests include personalised learning, technology-based assessment, and digital exclusion.He has a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and a MSc in IT Management. He has over 10 years’ experience in software and web application development.
Mathematics and Information Sciences
Dr. Richard Morton
Anniversary Research Fellow, Mathematics and Information Sciences
Richard spends his time trying to understand our Sun using data from satellites and telescopes. The Sun produces its own weather, creating huge solar storms that throw out billions of tonnes of million degree gas into space, and it also has a ferocious wind that blows at a million miles per hour. This space weather reaches Earth, causing beautiful events like the Aurora, but also disrupting power and communications networks.
Outside of work he plays football and, if the skies are clear, tries to do some amateur astronomy.
Krishna Mooroogen
PhD Student, Maths and Information Sciences
Krishna joined the Think Physics team as an ambassador in 2014. He is currently studying for a PhD in Solar Physics at Northumbria University under the supervision of Dr Richard Morton. Krishna graduated from Royal Holloway University of London with an MSci in Physics in 2013. Before embarking on his PhD he worked as an intern at Mullard Space Science Laboratory and as a software engineer at Real VNC. Krishna’s research interests are solar atmospheric science, spectroscopy and astronomy.
Dr. Alison Pickard
Evaluation and Research, Director of CPD and Collaboration for the Faculty
In the 1980s Ali worked in Information and Library Management, returning to academia in the 90s. She’s now Director of CPD and Collaboration at Northumbria, with publications on research methods and research interests in information and digital literacy.
