Stephen Hoy

I am a current DPhil student researcher at Trinity, working on a joint project between the Departments of Chemistry, Materials Science, and The Faraday Institution. This is following on from my Masters in Materials Science, also at Trinity, which I completed in 2022. My current work focuses on figuring out how new battery materials being developed are operating down at the level of individual atoms – which lets us design better versions in the future.

I currently cover tutorials for first- and second-year undergraduate Materials Science. This includes courses on crystal structure, polymers, and mechanical properties (including processing and manufacturing for performance).

I specialise in creating simulations of functional materials (such as in batteries and superconductors), with a particular focus on the atomic scale. For my MEng project, this involved the modelling of x-ray absorption spectra of high-temperature superconductors. These materials are being used in fusion reactors currently under construction, and the modelling of such spectra helps us to understand how they respond to the extreme conditions inside the reactors. My current DPhil research is part of an effort to develop “solid electrolyte” batteries, that will improve the safety and performance of electric vehicles. My role involves applying machine-learning techniques to our quantum mechanics simulations, to model these materials at larger scales, and at faster rates.