Professor Stephen Elliott

Professor of Chemical Physics at Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge

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Professor of Chemical Physics, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge

Professor Stephen Elliott is Professor of Chemical Physics at the University of Cambridge. He has published over 270 papers on amorphous materials, and published three books. Prior to his current position, he was Professor of Physics at École Polytechnique in Paris, France, and has held visiting positions in Japan, France, Belgium and India.

His research is mainly concerned with different aspects of (bio)chemical sensing (e.g. using MEMS or optical devices), and with non-crystalline materials (e.g. glasses), understanding their physical properties in terms of their atomic structure and defects. The approach is multidisciplinary, covering solid-state chemistry, physics and materials science. Areas of interest include: Microcantilever sensors for ultra-sensitive detection of chemical and biological analytes; Optical sensors, including evanescent-waveguide sensors, SERS using holographic substrates; Computer simulation of the atomic structure and vibrational dynamics of disordered materials; Ab-initio computer simulation of phase transformations and optically-induced metastabilities in glasses, e.g. used in phase-change memories (Flash replacement); Experimental study of optically-induced changes in glasses, with applications in the fields of optical- waveguides and chemical sensors, data storage and all-optical actuation.