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Talks

I have recently written a book, The Magick of Matter (Profile, UK 2022), introducing condensed matter physics to a broad audience.

Popular Science Talks

I’ve given a number of talks to general audiences, and am always happy to do more. If you organise an event at which you would like me to speak please do not hesitate to get in touch.

The Magick of Matter

This talk introduces my popular science book The Magick of Matter (Profile, UK 2022) / The Magick of Physics (Simon and Schuster, US 2023).

• Chaos PhysFest, University of Bristol, 8/6/24
• Lindemann Trust Outreach Event, King's College School, Wimbledon, 5/8/24
• Oxford Literary Festival, 23/3/24
• Laboratorio Internacional de Particulas Elementales, 27/7/23 (video here)
• Sedgehill Academy (London), 14/3/23
• Harvard Science Center, 10/3/23
• Cardiff Science Festival, 22/2/23
• St Paul's Girls' School (London) + partner schools, 30/11/22
• Cheltenham College + partner schools, 25/11/22
• Olchfa School (Swansea), 18/11/22
• The King's School (Ottery St Mary), 7/11/22
• The Royal Institution of Great Britain, 1/11/22 (video here)
• Oxford Science Festival, 27/10/22
• The Institute of Physics (London), 26/10/22
• The English-Speaking Union (Bristol), 20/10/22
• Keynote talk, Welsh Teachers' Conference (Christ's College, Brecon), 7/10/22

Magnetic Monopoles in Spin Ice

For further information and linked content see my Research page. Slides are available here.

• Cambridge University Physics Society, 13/3/24
• Laboratorio Internacional de Particulas Elementales, 25/1/24
• Friends of St. Andrew's (Colyton), 2/11/23
• PLANCKS Preliminary Competition (Edinburgh), 22/2/20
• The Royal Institution of Great Britain, 17/2/20 (video here)
• The Institute of Physics Seminar Series (University of Oxford), 4/2/20
• The Institute of Physics Seminar Series (University of Hertfordshire), 29/1/20
• The King's School (Ottery St Mary), 5/11/19
• Flying Start Physics (University of Oxford), 14/10/19

The Puzzling Paradoxes of Modern Physics

Slides are available here.

• Adstock Science Club, 16/1/19
• The Royal Institution of Great Britain, 19/1/18, 30/6/18, 1/7/18, 6/7/19
• St. Michael's Lectures (Exeter), 28/9/17
• A nice mention of this talk appears on the Gomboc information page!

Knots in Maths, Physics, Magic, and Superstition

Prepared with Dr Al Cummins.

• Locations in London; see Funzing. 16/1/18, 17/1/18

From Smoke Rings to Cosmic Strings: the Physics of Knots

Devoted page with extra information available here. Advertisement available here.

• The Royal Institution of Great Britain, 26/6/15, 27/6/15, 3/7/15
• Institute of Physics (London), 18/2/15
• The Open University, 10/2/15
• Institute of Physics Seminar Series (University of Hertfordshire), 1/10/14
• Bristol Sunday Circus, 21/09/14

Light

• Stilljam (Bristol), May 2014

Maxwell’s Demon

• Independence Day Festival (Devon), May 2012

Quantum Kung Fu

Devoted page with extra information available here.

• Video for the Physics World website (video here)

Summer Schools

Quasicrystals

• Physics by the Lake, 11/8/22

Colloquiua / Plenaries

Quasicrystals

• CM-CDT/QM-CDT Science Conference (St Andrew's), 11/12/23

Aperiodic Monotiles

• University of Durham, 27/11/23

The Physics of Aperiodic Order

• University of Bielefeld, 7/7/23

Research Seminars

Aperiodicity and Confinement

• University of Bristol, Holography and Quantum Field Theory Seminar, 29/1/24

Constrained Models on Aperiodic Tilings

• Universite Paris-Saclay, 4/4/24
• Niels Bohr Institute (Copenhagen), 4/12/23
• University of Birmingham, 23/11/23
• University of Geneva, 9/6/23
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, 27/4/23
• Harvard University, 10/3/23
• University of Swansea, 8/2/23
• University of Lancaster, 2/12/22
• Aperiodic Tilings: A Meeting and Mathematical Art Exhibition in Honour of Uwe Grimm, Open University 29/6/22
• Unverisity of Amsterdam, 11/5/22
• University of Bristol, 9/12/21

Dimer Models on Quasicrystals

• University of Southern California (online seminar), 26/11/21
• Xiamen University (online seminar), 12/11/21
• University of Durham (online seminar), 29/4/20
• Dublin Institute for Advanced Study (online seminar), 17/4/20
• University of Bristol, 10/1/20
• University of Oxford, 23/10/19
• University of Nottingham, 25/3/19
• University of Bath, 19/2/19

Time Quasicrystals in Dissipative Dynamical Systems

• University College London, 1/9/19
• University of Kent, 8/11/18
• University of St. Andrew’s, 21/9/18
• University of Bristol, 29/9/17
• Jagiellonian University, 15/9/17
• MPI Potsdam (Albert Einstein Institute), 13/9/17

Detecting Magnetic Monopoles in Spin Ice with NV-magnetometry

• Harvard University, 14/11/16

Two Studies in Incommensurate Charge Order

• University of Oxford, 9/11/16
• The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, 25/10/16
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 13/9/16
• Recording available here

The Gyrotropic Magnetic Effect

• University of Amsterdam, 3/5/16
• University of Leeds, 19/4/16

Charge Order in NbSe₂

• University of St. Andrew’s, 22/9/18
• University of Bath, 23/7/18
• Columbia University, 2/6/17
• University of British Columbia, 10/2/16
• Argonne National Lab, 29/1/16
• University of Waterloo, 15/6/15
• Free University of Berlin, 3/3/15
• University of Aberdeen, 30/5/13
• Slides available here

Quasicrystals, Charge Ordering, and the Quantum Hall Effect

• Princeton University, 7/1/16
• U. C. Berkeley, 16/9/15
• LMU Munich, 17/7/15
• University of Leeds, 1/4/15
• University of Porto, 13/3/15
• University of Cambridge, 13/2/15
• University of Amsterdam, 7/1/15
• University of Durham, 3/12/14
• University of St. Andrew’s, 27/11/14
• University of Kent, 20/11/14
• University of Bristol, 19/11/14
• Slides available here

Faddeev Popov ghosts

Talk notes available here.

• Physical Asymptotics Group Meeting, University of Bristol

The Gott time machine and a possible realization in condensed matter systems

Talk notes available here.

• Theory Group Open Day, University of Bristol

Conference Talks and Posters

After the End of the Universe

• (invited) After the End Workshop, University of Oxford, 3/7/24

Tensor Networks and Quasicrystals

• (invited) Tensor Networks for Constrained Systems, Kavli Institute for Nanoscience, TU Delft, 16/10/23

Constrained Models on Quasicrystals

• (invited) 15th International Conference on Quasicrystals, 18/6/23

Hamiltonian Cycles on Ammann Beenker Tilings

• APS March Meeting, 8/3/23
• Aperiodic Tilings: A meeting and mathematical art exhibition in honour of Uwe Grimm, Open University, 29/6/22

The Classical Dimer Model on Penrose Tilings

• Open Statistical Physics Meeting, Open University, 27/3/19

Braiding Non-Abelian Anyons with Localized Heating

• Frontiers of Condensed Matter Physics, Bristol University, 10/1/19

Enhanced Gyrotropic Magnetic Effect from Multifold Fermions

• Quantum Matter Beyond the Tenfold Way, Nordita 15/7/18
• Condensed Matter in the City, UCL, 21/6/18
• (invited) Oxford Symposium on Quantum Materials 2018, Oxford University 27/4/18

The Gyrotropic Magnetic Effect

• (invited) Hot Topics in Cold Matter Workshop, UC Berkeley, 27/5/16

Charge Order in NbSe₂

• 2DSPM-2018, San Sebastian, 27/7/18
• (invited) ECRYS-2017, Corsica, 26/8/17
• (invited) User Meeting, Argonne National Lab, 9/5/17
• Condensed Matter in the City, UCL, 1/7/15
• University of Bristol Postgraduate Conference, 23/07/13
• Slides available here

Detecting Magnetic Monopoles in Spin Ice with Nanoscale Magnetometry

• Workshop on Synergy and Innovation in Quantum Materials (poster), Berkeley, 12/6/17
• DAMOP (poster), Sacramento CA, 8/6/17

Charge Order along Mirror Twin Boundaries in Monolayer MoSe₂

• APS March Meeting, New Orleans LA, 15/3/17

Electron-Phonon Driven Charge Order in NbSe₂

• APS March Meeting, Denver CO, 6/3/14
• Talk slides available upon request (8.3MB file)

The Geometry of CDWs in Dichalcogenides

• Workshop and Conference on Geometrical Aspects of Quantum States in Condensed Matter, ICTP, 3/6/13
• Poster available here

Charge Density Waves, Quasicrystals, and the Quantum Hall Effect

• 6th Annual Natural Systems and Processes (poster), Bristol, 16/3/15
• Quantum Matter workshop (poster), Benasque, June 2014
• Conference in Memory of Balázs Györffy (poster), Bristol, 19/7/14
• Poster available here

Modelling Neutron Scattering With the Large-N Method

• Highly Frustrated Magnetism 2014 (poster), Queens’ College (Cambridge), 9/7/14
• Poster available upon request (23MB file)