Principal Investigator
Dr Bo Hou is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University. He received his PhD degree from the University of Bristol (2010–2014) and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford (2014–2018, Wolfson College) and as a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge (2018-2020, St Edmund’s College).
Lab manager
Dr Aisling Stewart (July 2023-Present)
PhD in Physics Chemistry, Heriot-Watt University, UK
My name is Aisling Stewart. I am originally from Portsmouth. I trained as a chemist and did my undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, specialising in gas-phase collisions, before moving to Wales. I enjoy walking, ice skating, and learning languages in my spare time.
Postdoctoral research associate
Dr Louis Renjun Liu (Feb 2023-Present)
EPSRC Funded
PhD in applied physics and materials engineering, University of Macau, Macau
Master in microelectronics and solid-state electronics, Jilin University, China
Dr Chandra Kant (Oct 2023-Present)
Leverhulme Trust funded
PhD in Material Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, India
Master of Technology from the Department of Physics, Indian Institute Technology (IIT), Delhi, India
PhD students
Diyar Mousa Othman (Oct 2020-Present)
Project title: Integrated Colloidal Quantum Dot (QD) smart optoelectronic devices for the Internet of Things (IoT).
External-supervisor: Prof. Julia A. Weinstein (University of Sheffield)
My name is Diyar Mousa Othman. I am from Cyprus and I graduated with a BSc in Physics from the University of Manchester in 2020. My dissertation was on the Future of Energy. In my summer break after second year, I did a summer internship at Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre.
Funder: EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing and Huawei Cambridge
Publications:
1. Diyar Mousa Othman, et. al., “Photonics Design Theory Enhancing Light Extraction Efficiency in Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diodes”, JPhys Materials 2022, https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7639/ac9e77
Alexander Osypiw (Oct 2021-Present)
Project title: Colloidal Quantum Dots for Visible-Light Communications
Second supervisor: Prof. Peter M Smowton
Third supervisor: Dr Stefano Leoni (School of Chemistry)
My name is Alexander Osypiw. I have achieved a Master degree in Physics at Aberystwyth University. I have done projects on quantum chemistry calculations for laser cooling molecules and radiation dose-dependent infrared photoluminescence of feldspar.
Funder: EPSRC DTP
Publications:
- Alexander R. C. Osypiw et al., “Solution-processed colloidal quantum dots for light emission“, Mater. Adv., 2022,3, 6773-6790. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2MA00375A
Munerah Almajed (Oct 2021-Present)
Project title: Compound semiconductors for Emerging Transparent Photovoltaics
Second supervisor: Prof. Gao Min (School of Engineering)
My name is Munerah Amajed, I achieved a bachelor’s degree in Physics at Qassim University. This was followed by a physics Master’s degree obtained from Cardiff University. By undertaking these studies, I have acquired extensive knowledge about the emerging areas of research in physics. In addition, An area of particular interest to me is compound semiconductor and optoelectronics applications. As a result of my studies to date, I already have a good grasp of this domain, but I anticipate that undertaking a PhD in physics would help me to pursue my interests further.
Funder: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Higher Education
William Solari (Oct 2022-Present)
Project title: Inkjet-printed Filter-less narrowband colloidal Quantum Dot photodetectors and image sensors
Second supervisor: Prof. Peter M Smowton
My name is William Solari. I received a master’s degree in Physics from the University of Bath. My master’s project was on the electrodeposition of 2D materials, in particular MoS2. In my spare time, I like to do archery and music, and I also enjoy cinematography.
Funder: EPSRC DTP
Kiran Sushil (Oct 2022-Present)
Project title: QD transistors and matrix arrays for wafer scale integration
External-supervisor: Prof. Julia A. Weinstein (University of Sheffield)
My name is Kiran Sushil, and I come from London. I graduated from the University of Lancaster with a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering and am now conducting a research project into the wafer-scale integration of QD transistor devices. I have a great interest in computing and processors, as well as an extended interest in solar energy solutions and development. My other interests involve guitar, basketball and tennis.
Funder: EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing and Lumentum UK
Hong Ji (Oct 2023-Present)
Project title: Colloidal Quantum Dots Photovoltaic Light-Emitting Field-Effect Transistors
Second supervisor: Prof. Peter M Smowton
My name is Hong Ji. I am from China and graduated with a BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Liverpool in 2020. I attended the University of Warwick for my MSc program, then joined Durham University for my MRes program.
Funder: Leverhulme Trust
Dadimuni De Silva (June 2023 – Present)
My name is Dadimuni De Silva, I am a DPhil student at the University of Cambridge. My research on performance enhancement of hybrid photovoltaics and I am co-supervised by Prof Gehan Amaratunga (University of Cambridge) and Dr Bo Hou (Cardiff University). At Cardiff, my research work focuses on quantum dot synthesis and hybrid solar cell device fabrications and characterisations.
Funder: EPSRC
Anirudha Bansal (Oct 2023-Present)

Master and Project students
Undergraduate students
Cameron Richard Bradley (2023-)
Ethan Robert Atkins (2023-)
Oisin Lludd Pennant (2023-)
Harri Joseph Davies (2023-)
Emma Sarling (2022-)
Shahdad Saharkhiz (2022-)
Phoebe Samantha Rozee (2022-)
Elis Anthony Pitcher (2021-)
Evan Eldridge (2021-)
Alumni
Amelia Jane Bowe (Bachelor of Physics, 2020-2023)
Ioan Benjamin Jones (Bachelor of Physics, 2020-2023)
Molly Charlotte Cross (Bachelor of Physics, 2020-2023)
Noah Frederick Dodson (2021-2023)
Jonny Varley (Bachelor of Physics, 2022-2023)
Joel Alexander James (Bachelor of Physics, 2022-2023)
Matt Almond (Master of Physics, 2022-2023)
Harry Horniman (Master of Physics, 2022-2023)
Benxuan Li (academic visitor, 2020-2023)
Shijie Zhan (academic visitor, 2020-2021)
Archibald Khan Atabey (2020-2022)
Farhana Akter (Oct 2021- Oct 2022)
Xiaoyu Wen (Oct 2021-Oct 2023)
Weitong Yue (Master of Science, 2021-2022)
Rui Zheng (Master of Science, 2021-2022)
Thomas Andrew Laws (Bachelor of Physics, 2021-2022)
Catrin Lines (Bachelor of Physics, 2020-2021)
Rhys Harmour (Bachelor of Physics, 2020-2021)
Oliver Sowden (Bachelor of Physics, 2020-2021)
Oskar Money-Kyrl (Master of Physics, 2020-2021)