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DU Science 100 Timeline
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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.
Headshot

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.
Headshot of Prof Alan Martin during his time as Head of Department

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 Tanner cuts the ribbon

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.
An image of Mark Swinbank's face

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.
Headshot of Peter Hatton

Prof. Shaun Cole

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

Professor Paula Chadwick

Play video 1

Where did Paula Chadwick's passion for Physics start, and what led her to graduate and come to Durham?

From being inspired by the Apollo 11 moon landings, Paula Chadwick went on the study at Queen Mary University of London before moving to Durham for her Doctoral research, where she studied high energy cosmic gamma rays from pulsars.