George Grey Centre Physics lab

Department of Physics and Mathematics

Physics and Mathematics at Hull

Physics and Astrophysics at Hull is ranked Top 10 in the UK for Student Satisfaction.1 We have an exceptionally vibrant learning community taught by members of staff who are international experts in areas ranging from astrophysics, nanophysics, lasers and computational and theoretical physics.

Mathematics at Hull is led by renowned academics whose work underpin the modules you'll study. Their specialisms include fluid dynamics, mathematical biology, financial mathematics and industrial mathematics. All taught within our close-knit mathematical community.

A degree in Physics or Mathematics is highly valued by employers and opens doors to varied and rewarding careers. Our graduates progress into areas such as research & development, teaching, banking and finance, information and communications technology (ICT), accountancy, insurance, the Civil Service, HM Revenue and Customs and management.

First for academic support

Our latest survey scores show that our courses are best in class for satisfaction with teaching, a testament to the dedication and support from our lecturers and academics.2

Top for employability

To further strengthen our graduates career prospects, we facilitate an employability focussed project 'WRIPA+'; funded by an Office for Students grant and led by Hull as part of our partnership with the White Rose Industrial Physics Academy (WRIPA).

We are passionate

Our 'Changing face of physics' campaign was named 'Best practice in the UK' by the Equality Challenge Unit and resulted in an Athena Swan award.

Groundbreaking research

We've authored over 700 papers – gathering more than 30,000 citations over the years – in the fields of nanotechnology, laser physics and astrophysics.

Research in the Department of Physics and Mathematics

Our research is at the frontier of physics and mathematics; stretching across the breadth of topics that are embedded in the department's activity. Hull's physics and mathematics research is included in the top quartile of research volume growth in Nature Index 2020.

Our research interests range from the very small scale (quantum theory) to the very large scale (cosmology and galaxy evolution). Between those extremes, we carry out specialist work in condensed matter physics, organophotonics, nanophysics, medical physics, light-matter interactions and applied mathematics to make sense of the world around us.

The core values of our department are centred around inclusivity and our importance as an anchor institution at a local and international level.

White Rose Industrial Physics Academy

The White Rose Industrial Physics Academy (WRIPA) is a partnership between the five university physics departments of Hull, Leeds, Nottingham, Sheffield and York, plus technical industries from across the region. WRIPA has received external funding of £3.0 million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Office for Students (OfS).

WRIPA supports technical sectors to innovate and grow through the provision of highly skilled physics graduates and aims to connect students and graduates with the wealth of career opportunities available.

The Academy’s role is to facilitate collaborations between physics students and industry, through internships, Year In Industry placements, final year projects and careers activities. WRIPA also organises the UK’s largest physics-focused recruitment fair.

Find out more about the White Rose Industrial Physics Academy.

Research strengths

Astrophysics

From the Big Bang to black holes. From quantum mechanics to the theory of everything. Our world-leading experts pursue explanations for the wonders of the universe.

We share our awe-inspiring discoveries with students, schools and the public to ignite the passions of the Einsteins and Hawkings of tomorrow.

Our community

of slides

Hands-on experience

We lead a £5.6 million Office for Students grant to deliver fantastic work experience opportunities for physics students. This includes access to an extensive range of work-based learning opportunities.

Supercomputing

Viper, our high-performance computing centre, is one of the highest rated in the north of England. This significant research investment provides a vital requirement to meet the ever growing demands of the University’s research community.

Find out more about Viper

Try for yourself

Watch: join Professor Brad Gibson and John Elliott for a virtual Mathematics taster session

Play YouTube video in lightbox

Groundbreaking research

Professor Ronald Shaw, who joined our team in Hull directly after completing his PhD at Cambridge, is one of the authors of the Yang-Mills-Shaw theory which is central to particle physics.

"It was a definite 'yes' for Hull"

Watch: find out why Katie Smith chose to study Mathematics at Hull 

Play YouTube video in lightbox

Events for all

We run over 100 events a year. These span a range of widening participation, diversity in STEM, continuing professional development for teachers and curriculum-enhancing support.

Using Mathematics to explore the galaxy

We develop essential tools for simulations to probe the formation of elements in the Universe, like our unprecedented simulation of the Universe spanning its first 8 billion years of existence.

Our people

The department is a vibrant community of extremely talented staff and students, who collaborate to craft some incredibly creative work.

staff members in the Department of Physics and Mathematics, arranged alphabetically by last name

PhD students

PhD students in the Department of Physics and Mathematics
Staff placeholder

Huda Al Sulaimi

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Areeg Al-Hamadani

Plasmonic and metamaterials nanoparticles for nanolight sources and next generation sensors

Staff placeholder

Qassim Al-Jarwany

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Afrida Alam

MSc (by Research) Physics

Staff placeholder

Oliver Bartlett

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Lawrence Bilton

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Christopher Carter

Memristor photonics

Staff placeholder

Peter Claronino

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Leah Cox

Data mining the Horizon Run

Staff placeholder

Thomas Cross

A large scale approach to modelling biosignatures

Staff placeholder

Afshan Dabeer

Microfluidic cell sorting

Staff placeholder

Jack Eatson

Engineering nanoparticles for colloidal self assembly to be used in nanophotonic devices

Staff placeholder

Sema Ebrahimi

Multilayer plasmonic antennas

Staff placeholder

Nazish Fatima

3D printing of Chitosan

Staff placeholder

Thomas Fish

MSc (by Research) Physics

Staff placeholder

Paul Fong

Stellar nucleosynthesis

Staff placeholder

Michael Gater

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Jacob Gordon

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Connor Hall

MSc (by Research) Physics

Staff placeholder

George Harvey

MSc (by Research) Physics

Staff placeholder

Thomas Henry

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Laura Hunt

MSc (by Research) Physics

Staff placeholder

Matthew Hunt

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Simon Huntley

Quantifying the systematic uncertainties of bow shock analysis in galaxy cluster mergers

Staff placeholder

Christopher Jordan

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

James Keegans

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Mikkel Kristensen

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Anna Kuzminova

MSc (by Research) Physics

Staff placeholder

Thomas Lawson

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Mikkel Lindholmer

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Christopher Lowe

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Joshua Marsh

MSc (by Research) Physics

Staff placeholder

Arina Mohammed

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Scott Morgan

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Joseph Morrison

3D printing of embedded electronic devices for medical applications

Staff placeholder

Kiri Newson

Safe and adaptive radiotherapy through evidential machine learning

Staff placeholder

Donatello Pagnotto

Plasmonic cavity coupled to organic devices electrically driven

Staff placeholder

Scott Preston

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Jonathan Proctor

MSc (by Research) Physics

Staff placeholder

Paulo Quintero Mejia

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Emily Shelton

Percolation theory applied to the large-scale structure of the Universe

Staff placeholder

Lee Smith

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Rajpal Thethi

PhD Physics

Staff placeholder

Thomas Trueman

The production of radioactive elements in stars

Staff placeholder

Iraj Vaezzadeh

Simulating the effects of multi-mergers on galaxy clusters

Staff placeholder

Craig Venables

Development of new memristor devices with dynamic and reconfigurable learning properties controllable by light

Staff placeholder

Aimee Wiggins

Sticky biomolecules: from sediments to astrobiology

Staff placeholder

Katie Wilkie

MSc (by Research) Physics

Staff placeholder

Stephen Wilkington

Mapping prevalence of hormones in aquatic systems with ultra-high sensitivity and selectivity nanogap electrode aptasensors

Staff placeholder

Kate Womack

Signatures of the intermediate neutron capture process

IIraj Vaezzadeh, Astrophysics

Our facilities

Take a 360-degree look at our physics laboratory where you'll have access to the tools for a broad understanding of modern physics, including high performance computers and industry standard equipment.

Footnote

1. (9th) The Complete University Guide 2024.

2. The Guardian University Rankings 2024.

Top