Professor Paul Griffin
Physics
Personal statement
I studied for a BSc Physics from the University of Limerick before receiving my PhD in 2005 from Durham University. I went on to become a postdoctoral fellow at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA, from 2005-2007, after which I came to the University of Strathclyde to work in what was then the Photonics Group. I held a five-year Royal Society of Edinburgh Personal Research Fellowship starting in 2009. From 2010-2011 I was a Guest Researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD, funded by an award from Marie Curie. In 2015 I was awarded a Chancellor's Fellowship at Strathclyde.
Prize And Awards
- Chancellor's Fellowship
- Recipient
- 2015
- Marie Curie CO-FUND Fellowship
- Recipient
- 2009
- Royal Society of Edinburgh/Scottish Government Personal Research Fellowship
- Recipient
- 2009
Publications
- Single-beam grating-chip 3D and 1D optical lattices
- Bregazzi Alan, McGilligan James P, Griffin Paul F, Riis Erling, Arnold Aidan S
- Physical Review Letters Vol 134 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.013001
- Optical phased array for sub-Doppler spectroscopy of the rubidium D2 absorption line
- Januszewicz Jeremi, Di Gaetano Eugenio, McConkey Zack, Sinclair Martin, Hawley Ugnė, Dyer Sean, McGilligan James, Griffin Paul F, Riis Erling, Sorel Marc, Paul Douglas J, Gallacher Kevin
- 2024 IEEE Photonics Conference (IPC) IEEE Photonics Conference 2024 2024 IEEE Photonics Conference (IPC), pp. 1-2 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1109/ipc60965.2024.10799735
- Optimizing longitudinal spin relaxation in miniaturized optically pumped magnetometers
- McWilliam A P, Dyer S, Hunter D, Mrozowski M, Ingleby S J, Sharp O, Burt D P, Griffin P F, McGilligan J P, Riis E
- Physical Review Applied Vol 22 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.22.064024
- Sensitive and accurate quantum magnetometry for GNSS-denied positioning, critical national infrastructure, and magnetic anomaly detection
- Ingleby Stuart, Hunter Dominic, Mrozowski Marcin, Griffin Paul, Riis Erling
- Proceedings of SPIE: The International Society for Optical Engineering Vol 13202 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3030911
- Distributed network of optically pumped magnetometers for space weather monitoring
- Mrozowski Marcin S, Bell Angus S, Griffin Paul F, Hunter Dominic, Burt David, McGilligan James P, Riis Erling, Beggan Ciarán D, Ingleby Stuart J
- Scientific Reports Vol 14 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79841-x
- A compact cold atom cavity clock
- Bregazzi A, Batori E, Lewis B, Affolderbach C, Mileti G, Griffin P, Riis E
- Journal of Physics: Conference Series Vol 2889 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2889/1/012034
Teaching
I teach the course PH385: Communicating Physics. The motivation behind this course is to develop students’ ability to communicate complex information effectively and concisely. In recent years, working with the Institute of Physics, students on the course have worked in groups to produce short videos that look to explain everyday physical phenomena. These can be viewed on the at these links
Pop Physics 2023
Pop Physics 2024
I am always keen to have research project interns. If you are interested in working in my labs then please email me to start an informal discussion about how we can make it happen.
Research Interests
My research is broadly in the areas of atomic physics and quantum technologies, using lasers and atoms as probes for precision measurement and for investigating atom-light interactions. A large area of work is focussed on developing next generation devices based on quantum technologies.
The main strands of my research looks at
- Atomic Clocks
- Atom interferometry
- Optically-pumped magnetometry
- Ultra-cold atoms
- Bose-Einstein condensates
- Quantum technologies
- Space applications of quantum tech
- Developing components and sub-systems for translating lab research to application-read devices.
I am part of the Experimental Quantum Optics & Photonics group. Further details can be found in our research group webpages -> https://eqop.phys.strath.ac.uk/
Professional Activities
- 2024 IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Joint Symposium
- Invited speaker
- 24/9/2024
- Quantum Technology School 2024
- Host
- 12/9/2024
- Compact Platforms for Cold-Atom Clocks
- Speaker
- 18/7/2024
- Optical Sensors and Sensing Congress
- Invited speaker
- 16/7/2024
- Quantum for science workshop
- Speaker
- 18/6/2024
- Science on the Streets: Science Walking Tours
- Presenter
- 7/6/2024
Projects
- DTP 2224 University of Strathclyde | Smith, Samuel Alexander
- Griffin, Paul (Principal Investigator) Arnold, Aidan (Co-investigator) Smith, Samuel Alexander (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2024 - 01-Jan-2028
- Rank Prize Undergrad Vacation grant - Development of Chip Scale Atomic Clocks
- Griffin, Paul (Principal Investigator) McGilligan, James Patrick (Co-investigator) MacLennan, Eilidh (Researcher)
- Scholarship from the Rank Prize Funds to support an undergraduate vacation research project
Further details https://www.rankprize.org/grants/undergrad-vacation-grant/
Award value £4,000 - 20-Jan-2024 - 19-Jan-2024
- DTP 2224 University of Strathclyde | Dorne, Anais Camille Annabel
- Griffin, Paul (Principal Investigator) Riis, Erling (Co-investigator) Dorne, Anais Camille Annabel (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2024 - 01-Jan-2027
- Chip-scale Atomic Systems for a Quantum Navigator (Programme Grant)
- Griffin, Paul (Principal Investigator) Riis, Erling (Co-investigator)
- 16-Jan-2023 - 15-Jan-2028
- DTP 2224 University of Strathclyde | Wells-Pestell, Maximillian
- Pritchard, Jonathan (Principal Investigator) Griffin, Paul (Co-investigator) Wells-Pestell, Maximillian (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 01-Jan-2027
- DTP 2224 University of Strathclyde | Leask, Vaila
- Griffin, Paul (Principal Investigator) McGilligan, James Patrick (Co-investigator) Leask, Vaila (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 01-Jan-2027