Professor Paul McKenna
Deputy Associate Principal
Physics
Personal statement
Paul McKenna is Deputy Associate Principal (Research & Knowledge Exchange). He leads activity in the areas of Research and Knowledge Exchange, with associated roles aligning with the University’s Postgraduate Research portfolio and Researcher Development. He was Vice Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science from September 2021 to January 2023 and Head of the Department of Physics from August 2018 to August 2021.
Prof. McKenna’s research focuses on ultra-intense laser-plasma interactions, including the development and application of laser-driven particle and radiation sources, plasma optics and photonics, and high field science.
He is a member of EPSRC's Capital Infrastructure Strategic Advisory Team since 2017 and a former member of STFC's Science Board (2017-20). He holds scientific advisory roles for several international high power laser facilities (e.g. the Program Advisory Committee for the Extreme Light infrastructure-Nuclear Physics facility) and held a visiting position at the Central Laser Facility at Harwell. He was an EPSRC Leadership Fellow from 2012-17 and was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2021.
Prize And Awards
- High Power Laser Science and Engineering Outstanding Contribution Award
- Recipient
- 1/10/2023
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
- Recipient
- 30/3/2020
Publications
- Interfacial design enables self-release of ultrathin freestanding carbon membranes
- Wilson Robbie, Palla-Papavlu, Alexandra, Moldovan Antoniu, Bonciu Anca, Sătulu Veronica, Ion Valentin, Urzică Iuliana, Dorobanțu Daniel, Marin Cristina, Ghenuche Petru, McKenna Paul, Doria Domenico, Malka Victor, Octavian Cernăianu Mihail
- Communications Materials (2026)
- Synchrotron-dominated X-ray emission from ultrathin foils in the relativistic self-induced transparency regime
- King Martin, Patel Jesel, Wilson Robbie, Dolier Ewan, Gray Ross, Peat Romero Maia, Torrance Ben, McKenna Paul
- 52nd EPS Plasma Physics Conference 2026 (2026)
- ARISE: Algorithm for Rapid Ion Spectrum Extraction for High- Repetition-Rate Laser-Driven Ion Acceleration
- Wilson Robbie, Torrance Ben, McQueen Christopher, Dolier Ewan, Alderton Matthew, Peat Romero Maia, Nayli Radhika, King Martin, Gray Ross, McKenna Paul
- The 4th ELIMED Workshop MEDical and Multidisciplinary Applications of Laser-driven Ion beams at ELI Beamlines Facility (2026)
- Developing neural network-based synthetic diagnostics of laser-accelerated proton sources
- Wilson Robbie, Dolier Ewan, McQueen Christopher, Torrance Ben, Frazer Timothy, Alderton Matthew, Patel Jesel, Peat Romero Maia, Dzelzainis Thomas, Bacon Ewan, Breyiannis Jason, Leena Sadasivan Nair Sreejith Sadan, Gray Ross, McKenna Paul
- The 4th ELIMED Workshop MEDical and Multidisciplinary Applications of Laser-driven Ion beams at ELI Beamlines Facility (2026)
- Experimental evidence of production of directional muons from a laser-wakefield accelerator
- Calvin Lyndsey, Gerstmayr Elias, Arran C, Tudor Liviana, Foster T, Fleck K, Bergmann B, Doria D, Kettle Brendan, Maguire H, Malka V, Manek P, Mangles SPD, McKenna Paul, Mihai RE, Popa S, Ridgers Christopher, Smolyanskiy P, Wilson Robbie, Deas R, Sarri G
- Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion Vol 68 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/ae4d05
- Tunable harmonic frequency combs via dual-beam or structured-target laser-solid interactions
- Trines R M G M, Schmitz Holger, King Martin, McKenna Paul, Bingham Robert
- Physical Review Research Vol 8 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1103/j531-q3tk
Professional Activities
- Invited talk at ELI User conference 2026: 'Synchrotron dominated X ray emission from ultrathin foils in the relativistic self- induced transparency regime'
- Speaker
- 24/6/2026
- Invited Talk at the 4th ELIMED Workshop: "Stabilising Laser-driven Ion Sources with Real Time Optimisation and Machine Learning-based Synthetic Diagnostics"
- Speaker
- 17/3/2026
- Control and analysis of solid target experiments at 1 Hz and beyond
- Contributor
- 11/2/2026
- Invited Talk - Queens University Belfast Sir Harrie Massey Colloquia
- Speaker
- 21/5/2025
- Invited Talk at the Frontiers in Plasma Physics and Technology (FPPT-11) International Conference
- Speaker
- 5/5/2025
- Frontiers in Plasma Physics and Technology (FPPT-11) International Conference
- Participant
- 5/5/2025
Projects
- Cultures of Collaborative Research in a Socially Progressive Technological University
- McDonald, James (Principal Investigator) Bedford, Tim (Co-investigator) Compton-Daw, Emma (Co-investigator) Connolly, Patricia (Co-investigator) Grealy, Madeleine (Co-investigator) Mahn, Churnjeet (Co-investigator) McKenna, Paul (Co-investigator) Graham, Angela (Researcher) Salamon, Katrina (Researcher) Sin, I Lin (Researcher) Weikum, Maria Katharina (Researcher) Wells-Holland, Chris (Researcher)
- 01-Jan-2026 - 31-Jan-2026
- Relativistic Plasma Optics for Ultraintense Structured Light Generation: Dstl contribution to ETT Hub PhD studentship
- McKenna, Paul (Principal Investigator)
- 31-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2029
- UDLA 2527 University of Strathclyde
- McKenna, Paul (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2031
- ALC Programme Development Studentship: Machine learning-based synthetic diagnostic and surrogate model of laser-accelerated ions
- McKenna, Paul (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2029
- UKRI3050 DA EPSRC university doctoral landscape award additional funding 2025 - University of Strathclyde
- McKenna, Paul (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2026
- UKRI2005: DA EPSRC IDLA - University of Strathclyde 2025
- McKenna, Paul (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2030
Contact
Professor
Paul
McKenna
Deputy Associate Principal
Physics
Email: paul.mckenna@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 5712