Grant Ritchie

Professor of Chemistry

My research interests lie in ultrasensitive absorption spectroscopy and optical manipulation.

Our spectroscopy work is done in the mid-IR (2.5-10 μm), where there are many strong fundamental ro-vibrational molecular transitions. Therefore, this is an extremely useful region of the electromagnetic spectrum for trace gas analysis in environmental or medical monitoring applications. In general, the fundamental vibrational bands active in this region have stronger line strengths than the overtone and combination bands typically used in the visible and near-IR regions. In addition, spectra are less congested, allowing selective spectroscopic detection of a large number of molecules. The 3 μm region is of particular importance due to the strong vibrational bands associated with the C-H, N-H, and O-H stretches. Applications include collaborations with other departments at the University of Oxford
to develop sensitive breath analysers based on absorption spectroscopy.

Our optical trapping work is based on two experimental techniques: optical tweezing and evanescent wave optical manipulation. Applications include the study of colloidal crystal formation, which can act as an analogue of nanocrystal growth.

For more information, please visit my research pages or send me an email.

Research area Optical Physics Spectroscopy

Research interests Colloids Optical trapping Ultrasensitive spectroscopy

Department Chemistry

Robin Cleveland

Professor of Engineering Science

My research is in the area of acoustics, primarily focused on biomedical acoustics with applications in both diagnostics and therapeutics.

Stuart Conway

Professor of Organic Chemistry

The focus of our research is the development of selective molecular probes to enable investigation of certain biological systems.

Gavin Dalton

Professor of Astrophysics

I am working on wide‐field imaging and fibre‐fed spectroscopy instrumentation in visible and near‐infrared astronomy, both in instrument construction and science exploitation.

Jason Davis

Professor in Chemistry and University Reader

Our research bridges fundamental chemistry with real-world application, with a growing focus on translational diagnostics and molecular sensing.

Nynke Dekker

Professor

Our long-term goal is to understand how molecular motors work together with accessory factors in the copying of DNA or RNA

Steve Elston

Professor of Engineering Science

My present research interests are mainly in the field of novel liquid crystal materials and applications, within which I undertake both theoretical and experimental work.

Nigel Emptage

Professor of Pharmacology

Our research in neuroscience is supported by the development of novel optical imaging tools, particularly through high resolution microscopy.

Julian Fells

EPSRC Research Fellow

My research is focuses on the development of new sensor technology using laser-written Fibre Bragg gratings

Stephen Fletcher

Professor of Chemistry

My research is in the area of synthetic organic chemistry. About half of my group works on projects related to photonics.

Marco Fritzsche

Professor of Biophysical Immunology (Innovation Investigator Track)

My research focuses on the understanding of the mechanobiology of the human immunity.