Dr John Buckeridge

I am a Senior Lecturer at the School of Engineering in LSBU. I am computational materials physicist interested in modelling the properties of semiconductors and other functional materials. I am fascinated by the interaction of charge carriers with defects in crystalline systems, and aim to understand this interaction at a fundamental level. My work focuses on materials used in energy applications and high power microelectronics.
I am from Cork, Ireland, which is where I studied physics (at University College Cork). After obtaining my PhD, in 2011 I moved to the Chemistry Department in UCL. I moved to LSBU in 2019.

My research focuses on developing and applying computational techniques to understand how defects influence the electronic, optical, dynamic and transport properties of semiconductors. My key interest is to understand these effects at a detailed, fundamental level. Doing so provides insights in materials science which help guide the design of devices for solid-state lighting, microelectronics, sensing and energy applications such as photovoltaics, fuel cells and thermoelectrics.
I have published over 50 research articles in peer-reviewed journals and books. My research has appeared in relevant media: in 2015 my work on understanding the properties of the wide gap semiconductor GaN was highlighted in the general audience magazines Materials Today, Chemistry World and Scientific American.
Through the course of my research, I apply software tools on national supercomputers, which I access through membership of the Materials Chemistry Consortium. I have bid successfully for substantial amounts of computer time over the last several years, that has been crucial for my research. I also have developed analysis tools that are in broad use within the research community.
I am a co-investigator on an EPSRC funded grant which is a Collaborative Computational Project on Quantum Computing (CCP-QC) in the UK. The project aims to bring together researchers working on quantum computing software and materials modelling, with industry partners focused on quantum computer hardware and software. We are also coordinating with the newly created, UKRI funded National Quantum Computing Centre. Placing the UK at the forefront of quantum computing globally is a key strategic goal of the UK government. I am deputy co-chair of the management committee of CCP-QC.
I am also co-investigator and knowledge exchange coordinator on the UKRI-funded QEVEC project, part of the UK ExCALIBUR programme, which aims to get the UK ready for exascale computing. We are seeking areas in computational materials modelling and astrophsics, among other applications, where current quantum computing technologies can offer significant speed ups.
I have obtained grants to disseminate my research in India and to collaborate with researchers in Spain. In 2018, the ePCC (the governing body that administers the national supercomputers in the UK) awarded me the position of 'Early Career Panel Observer', allowing me to sit in on a panel meeting where large scale bids for access to the computers were adjudicated on.
My research interests overlap with many of those at LSBU, and I have formed fruitful collaborations in the School of Engineering.