Robin Smith joined SHU as a physics lecturer in August 2017 after completing his PhD in nuclear physics at the University of Birmingham. He specialises in experimental measurements of nuclear reactions, relevant to nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics, examining the shapes of atomic nuclei and determining the rates of fusion reactions in stars. Robin is also leading projects in radiation detector development, which are to be used in the energy sector for nuclear data measurements and also for nuclear security.

Robin has authored a number of peer-reviewed publications in both theoretical and experimental nuclear physics. His publication on the Structure of the carbon-12 Hoyle state in 2017 was featured in Physics World magazine and APS Physics Viewpoint. The experiment itself appeared in the BBC television show, The Beginning and the End of the Universe, episode 2.

Responsibilities

• Nuclear Academic Industry Liaison Society (NAILS) – SHU representative
• Villiers Park Educational Trust – Teacher

Awards

2019 - Few-Body Physics Young Researcher Award 

Specialist areas of interest

• Radiation detection
• Nuclear reactions
• Nuclear structure (alpha clustering)
• Nuclear data
• Neutron spectrum unfolding