Colm Durkan
Prof Colm Durkan is the founder and head of the Applied Nanoscience and Nanoscale Engineering research group at the Nanoscience centre of the University of Cambridge. He is currently deputy head of the Department of Engineering, in charge of the entire undergraduate teaching programme. He was also a Trinity College Foundation scholar, and was the recipient of the Fitzgerald medal in 1992. After spending a postdoctoral stint at Konstanz University in Germany, during which time he was awarded an Alexandar von Humboldt visiting fellow's scholarship. He works in Cambridge from 1997. He is on the editorial board of the journals Microscopy & Imaging and the Nature group journal Scientific Reports. He was elected to a fellowship of the Institute of Physics in 2009 and the Institute of Engineering & Technology in 2014.
Prof Colm Durkan’s research interests can be summarised as: ferroelectrics, ferromagnetics and electronics at the nanoscale. He is particularly interested in investigating how the functional properties of technologically-relevant ferroic materials can be probed and modified at the nanometre scale and has recently shown that vortices occur in ferroelectrics. His work has also demonstrated the capability to create ultra high frequency (up to 1 THz) tuneable SAW filters. He is also developing a robust, high-yield architecture for molecular electronics devices and uses a home-built UHV STM for probing graphene, graphite and single molecules.
Prof Colm Durkan has secured funding from and collaborated with several leading companies as well as government funding agencies. He has published many books on nanoelectronics and over 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals, and has given over 100 invited talks. He is currently finishing off a textbook on analogue electronics for Cambridge University Press. He lectures and teaches in electronics, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics and nanotechnology.e-mail: colm.durkan@cambridgenano.co.uk
Nan Wang
Dr Nan Wang was a researcher in the University of Oxford from 2002 to 2006, working in the chemistry department. Subsequently, she is a faculty in the University of Cambridge, working at the Engineering Department.
Dr Nan Wang has co-authored a book, Advances in Nano Engineering. She worked under Professor Allen Hill FRS on an EU project SAMMBA concerning the use of metal proteins for a bio-device application and reported the findings to the funding body. Professor Allen Hill was awarded the 2010 Royal Medal of the Royal Society "for his pioneering work on protein electrochemistry, which revolutionised the diagnostic testing of glucose and many other bioelectrochemical assays. Dr Nan Wang contributed part of this project during her stay in Oxford.
Dr Nan Wang was a researcher associate of Professor Sir Mark Welland FRS, working on nano-electronics when she joined the university of Cambridge in 2006.
Dr Nan Wang is the principal researcher on a few major industrial projects, ferroelectric materials and high frequency (up to 1 THz) SAW filters; DNA nano-wire; conducting polymers;CNT break junction;High resolution image of cardiac myocytes etc. e-mail: nan.wang@cambridgenano.co.uk
Valerie Holt
Valerie graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a Natural Sciences BA degree. She also has Higher Diploma in Education(HDipEd). After graduation, she worked as a volunteer(VSO) for the University of Zambia setting up adult education projects on the Copperbelt. Later she was trained as a fund manager at the merchant bank Hill Samuel before using both her financial and science backgrounds to enable her to act as a consultant to Rockwell, United Technologies and Northwest Industries. She was Vice president of PSI when it was one of the first international internet service providers.
Valerie was a Cambridge city councillor until 2019. She is an active supporter of high tech company with proven growth credentials. e-mail: valerie.holt@cambridgenano.co.uk