Physicist Showcase

Key figures in the history of the department

Click on a person's profile to watch them talk about the history and development of the department, their research work, their inspiration and why they chose Durham.

Prof. Paula Chadwick

Paula Chadwick is Head of the Department of Physics and her research investigates gamma-ray astronomy and astroparticle physics.

Prof. Alan Martin

Alan Martin is an Emeritus Professor known for his research in the theory of elementary particles, including kaon physics, pi–pi scattering, hadron spectroscopy & muons.

Prof. Brian Tanner

Brian is an Emeritus Professor and formerly Dean of Knowledge Transfer, and is best known for research and business applications of X-ray diffraction topography.

Prof. Chris Done

Obtaining her PhD at Cambridge, Prof. Chris Done has focused on black holes, the ultimate triumph of gravity, with spacetime so warped that not even light can escape.

Prof. Mark Swinbank

Mark is an astronomer in the Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy. His research interests concern formation and evolution of galaxies, their clusters and interactions.

Prof. Peter Hatton

Peter is the Director of the Durham X-ray Centre, the largest interdisciplinary research centre in the University, and specialises in x-ray scattering techniques.

Prof. Shaun Cole

Shaun is the Director of the Institute for Computational Cosmology. His research interests are Galaxy Formation and Large-scale structure.

Professor Mark Swinbank

How changes in technology have shaped Astronomical research.

Mark Swinbank is an observation astronomer, using some of the world's biggest telescopes to research the galaxies above. In this video he describes how his field of research has changed over time.

Where did Mark's passion for Physics start, and after his degree what came next?

Mark first became interested in Astronomy as a teenager in the early 1990s, seeing the images from the Voyager space missions on TV. He came to study at Durham, staying for his PhD and eventually joining the academic staff in 2015.

What are you working on, and what are you most excited about researching next?

Mark talks about what he is working on at the moment, looking at how galaxies form and evolve, and the instrumentation projects of the future.

Mark talks about collaborations, what paved the way for his current research, and the most exciting things he's worked on.

Mark talks about his worldwide collaborations, what paved the way for his current research, and the most exciting things he's worked on.

Mark's favourite location in the Department, and how the teaching here has changed since he was an Undergrad

Mark Swinbank, in his favourite location by the telescopes on the roof of the Rochester building, describes the many changes in teaching since he started here, such as the investment in new buildings and how courses are structured.