Expertise in Research and Complementarity
The Durham team is led by Prof. D. R. Flower (DRF), with support from
Emeritus Professor B. H. Bransden (BHB). DRF has wide experience in
molecular dynamics. After postdoctoral research in Paris and Switzerland
(ETH), he moved to Durham as Lecturer in 1978 to join the Physics
Department. He was appointed Professor in 1994. BHB has made major
contributions to the study of theoretical atomic physics and elementary
particle theory. The team is part of a larger grouping (the Atomic and
Molecular Physics group) in the Physics Department (graded 5 for
research). The University of Durham is one of the leading research
Universities in the UK. As such it is well-equipped for research; for
example, it has excellent library and IT facilities. The excellence of
the research in its Physics Department is recognized by the award of a
grade 5 in the two most recent UK Research Assessment Exercises. The
team has been especially active in European collaborative research, and
work with the Meudon team has been recognized by the award of a prize
of the Academie des Sciences to Guillaume Pineau des Forêts. DRF
was Chairman of the highly successful Collaborative Computational
Project on the Analysis of Astrophysical Spectra. The Durham/Meudon
team has also benefited from a number of collaborative grants,
including a joint Royal Society/CNRS award and two grants from the
British Council's Alliance Programme. The first ever prediction of
chemical bistability of the interstellar gas was made by the
Meudon/Durham group. The Durham team has collaborated previously with
Pierre Valiron (Grenoble) and with Marie-Lise Dubernet (now at Meudon).
Expertise in Training and Knowledge Transfer
The graduate student would study in the Physics Department of the
University of Durham. Students are expected to attend lectures and to
contribute to the programme of research seminars, with a seminar every
week in physics and one on more general physical topics (many more
seminars are available in the Departments of Physics and Chemistry).
Furthermore, the University of Durham provides a structured modular
training programme to support the personal and career development of
graduate students. Numerous courses are available, for example 'An
Introduction to Unix' and 'Writing for Publication', as well as
'Dealings with your supervisor'. Members of Prof. Flower's group
regularly attend and present work at national and international
meetings. These various activities will ensure that the training of a
graduate student in Durham will have breadth as well as depth. The
student will be one of approximately 70 graduate students in the
Department of Physics. Over the past four years, DRF has supervised 3
PhD students (2M, 1F), of whom 2 have graduated and 1 is a current
student.
Involvement of Key Scientific Staff.
| Name | Position | M/F | Expertise |
| D. R. Flower | Professor | M | Molecular dynamics |
| B. H. Bransden | Emeritus Professor | M | Atomic physics theory |
| C. McCoey | PhD Student | F | Shocks in outflow sources |
Significant References
1. The contribution of J-type shocks to the H2
emission from
molecular outflow sources D. R. Flower, J. Le Bourlot, G. Pineau des
Forêts and S. Cabrit, MNRAS, 341, 70 (2003)
2. New determinations of the critical velocities of C-type shock waves
in dense molecular clouds J. Le Bourlot, G. Pineau des Forêts,
D. R. Flower and S. Cabrit, MNRAS, 332, 985-993 (2002)