Professor Amin Abdolvand
Contact
Biography
Professor Amin Abdolvand is the Associate Dean for Research in the School of Science and Engineering.
- Research Scientist, Martin-Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany (2003-2006).
- PD Research Fellow, The University of Manchester, UK (2006-2008).
- PD Research Fellow, University of Dundee, UK (2008-2010).
I occupy the Chair of Functional Materials & Photonics. I am a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FInstP), Senior Member of the Optical Society of America (OSA), and head the Materials & Photonics Systems (MAPS) Group at the School of Science & Engineering. I have held an EPSRC Career Acceleration Fellowship (Aug. 2010 - July 2015) on "Metal-glass nanocomposites through nanoengineering to application" and EPSRC New Directions for Research Leaders Award (April 2012 - March 2014) on "Creative, comprehensive, composite engineering" (EP/I004173/1).
I am working in the interface of Engineering and Physics. Broadly, my research covers:
- Fabrication & functionalisation of nano-materials;
- Surface functionalisation of materials;
- Applied laser technology.
The Group has benefited from close industrial support to form the Nano-Materials Research Lab (NMRL), and indeed MAPS own characterisation and laser materials engineering facility – multimillion equipment investment - in collaboration with EPSRC, CERN, EU FP7 and STFC. MAPS laser materials engineering and characterisation facilities are comparable to any state-of-the-art facility of this type in the World. Currently I am actively pursuing Advanced Manufacturing with Light – see more under Research.
Research
Within the Advance Manufacturing or Engineering with Light research programme, I explore the fact that different textures and structures have significant effects on optical, aerodynamical, tribological, biological and electronic characteristics of materials. My aim is to develop and establish new precision laser engineering techniques to modify the nanostructure of materials and demonstrate novel light-matter interaction mechanisms. This "manufacturing with light" promises to form a major platform in advanced materials engineering for industrial applications across the gamut of emerging needs – ranging from surface modification in materials for particle accelerators and space technology to volume modifications of composite systems and the formation of nanoparticulate printable inks for security and energy sectors. Despite the diverse characteristics of the above phenomena, they are all based on a common theme – the interaction of light with matter leading to nanoscale laser materials engineering. In the course of exploring this central hypothesis, I anticipate gaining an understanding and creating new knowledge of the relationship between the light-induced changes in the internal and surface structure of materials and their properties. I believe that knowledge of these relationships, and the processes by which materials can be modified and engineered by light, are fundamental to the design and manufacture of products.
Stories
Feature
Our space research dates back to breakthroughs in aerospace engineering and space technology, such as R&D taken forward by our spinout company STAR-Dundee, which specialises in spacecraft on-board data-handling and processing technologies.
Press release
The University of Dundee is one of nine UK research organisations which have embarked on a £26million project to help upgrade the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, on the French/Swiss border near Geneva
Feature
A collaboration between the University of Dundee, The Science and Technology Facilities Council, and CERN