Dr Anthony Phillips
Senior Lecturer in Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Email: a.e.phillips@qmul.ac.ukTelephone: 020 7882 3429Room Number: G. O. Jones Building, Room 215Office Hours: Tuesdays and Fridays, 4 p.m.
Profile
I was born and grew up in Perth and studied at the Universities of Sydney (B.Sc., B.A. 2007) and Cambridge (Ph.D. 2011). In 2011 I moved to the School of Physics and Astronomy at Queen Mary, where I am currently Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Condensed Matter and Materials Physics.
Teaching
I am currently Director of Curriculum for the School of Physics and Astronomy and teach the second-year module Introduction to Scientific Computing.
Previously, I wrote and taught the second-year module Condensed Matter A, the Masters’ module Phase Transitions, and the second-year module Structure and Properties of Functional Materials.
Research
Research Interests:
My research focuses on the relationship between the atomic structure of materials and their functional properties. I study the structural response of materials to in situ perturbations such as changes in temperature or pressure or irradiation with light. This has included materials with negative coefficients of thermal expansion (i.e., that shrink as you heat them up) and photochromic and photorefractive materials, whose colour and refractive index change as a result of light illumination.
My work is both experimental and computational. On the experimental side much of my work takes place at central facilities, including synchrotrons and neutron sources. On the computational side I use both ab initio and empirical-potential modelling, especially using the density-functional theory code CASTEP.
I am also interested in the mathematical and computational problems that often arise in structural studies. These include problems of statistical inference (does an experimental data set provide sufficient evidence to posit a subtle structural change?), group-theoretical analysis of symmetry changes at phase transitions, and challenges associated with navigating a complex, multi-dimensional phase space when establishing a structural model and refining it against either experimental or computed data.
Publications
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PHILLIPS AE (2018). Rigid units revisited. nameOfConference
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Duncan HD, Beake EOR, Playford HY et al. (2017). Local structure of a switchable dielectric Prussian blue analogue. nameOfConference
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PHILLIPS AE, fortes A (2017). Crossover Between Tilt Families and Zero Area Thermal Expansion in Hybrid Prussian Blue Analogues. nameOfConference
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Walker HC, Duncan HD, Le MD et al. (2017). Magnetic structure and spin wave excitations in the multiferroic metal-organic framework (CD3)ND2[Mn(DCO2)3]. nameOfConference
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Thygesen PMM, Young CA, Beake EOR et al. (2017). Local structure study of the orbital order/disorder transition in LaMnO3. nameOfConference
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beake EOR, tucker M, dove MT et al. (2016). Orientational disorder in adamantane and adamantanecarboxylic acid. nameOfConference
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Dunstan MT, Maugeri SA, Liu W et al. (2016). In situ studies of materials for high temperature CO2 capture and storage.. nameOfConference
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Evans NL, Thygesen PMM, Boström HLB et al. (2016). Control of Multipolar and Orbital Order in Perovskite-like [C(NH2)3]CuxCd1-x(HCOO)3 Metal-Organic Frameworks.. nameOfConference
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Duncan HD, Dove MT, Keen DA et al. (2016). Local structure of the metal–organic perovskite dimethylammonium manganese( ii ) formate. nameOfConference
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Fang H, Dove MT, Phillips AE (2014). Common origin of negative thermal expansion and other exotic properties in ceramic and hybrid materials. nameOfConference
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Fang H, Phillips AE, Dove MT et al. (2013). Temperature-dependent pressure-induced softening in Zn(CN)(2). nameOfConference
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Beake EOR, Dove MT, Phillips AE et al. (2013). Flexibility of zeolitic imidazolate framework structures studied by neutron total scattering and the reverse Monte Carlo method.. nameOfConference
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Andritsos EI, Zarkadoula E, Phillips AE et al. (2013). The heat capacity of matter beyond the Dulong-Petit value.. nameOfConference
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Phillips AE, Cole JM, Low KS et al. (2013). L2,3-edge x-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy analysis of photoisomerism in solid ruthenium-sulfur dioxide complexes.. nameOfConference
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Cui XY, Soon A, Phillips AE et al. (2012). First principles study of 3d transition metal doped Cu3N. nameOfConference
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Phillips AE, Cole JM (2012). Bayesian analysis of the evidence for minor components in crystallographic models: an alternative to the Hamilton R test.. nameOfConference
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Phillips AE, Cole JM, d'Almeida T et al. (2012). Ru-OSO coordination photogenerated at 100 K in tetraammineaqua(sulfur dioxide)ruthenium(II) (±)-camphorsulfonate.. nameOfConference
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Phillips AE, Cole JM, d'Almeida T et al. (2010). Effects of the reaction cavity on metastable optical excitation in ruthenium-sulfur dioxide complexes. nameOfConference
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Phillips AE, Halder GJ, Chapman KW et al. (2010). Zero thermal expansion in a flexible, stable framework: tetramethylammonium copper(I) zinc(II) cyanide.. nameOfConference
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Phillips AE, Goodwin AL, Halder GJ et al. (2008). Nanoporosity and exceptional negative thermal expansion in single-network cadmium cyanide.. nameOfConference
PhD Supervision
This is not an exhaustive list and I would be happy to discuss other project possibilities.
Project Title
High-pressure studies of crystals
Fluctuations in crystals by neutron and x-ray scattering