Joe Shields

My interest in Physics and Mathematics stems from a deep curiosity about the world that we live in and how we can better understand it to solve problems and create solutions. This interest led me to studying a Masters in Physics at the University of Oxford in which I specialised in Astrophysics and Condensed Matter Physics. In my final year I worked in the area of superconductivity and my Master thesis was entitled: "Pulse field magnetisation of bulk high temperature superconductors (GdBCO) with a variety of sample and split coil geometries."

In 2018 I started studying for a PhD at the University of Exeter in the area of metamaterials. A metamaterial is a material that is engineered to have novel properties that are not usually found in nature. This is done by fabricating structures on scales much smaller than the wavelength of the phenomenon they are design to influence. I am specifically looking at materials that influence light which means fabricating devices at the nanometer scale. My specalism is in using chalcogenide phase-change materials to create active metasurfaces that can be switched or dynamically controlled with a focus on controlling reflected and transmitted wavefronts for optical computing and multispectral sensing. My thesis title is: “Phase-change photonic meta-devices for active filtering and modulation”.

I have a passion for sharing my love for Physics and Mathematics and have been a secondary school and a-level teacher for three years teaching in schools in London and Exeter. My other interests include sustainable building techniques focused on straw bale building, long distance cycling, juggling, climbing and salsa!