Prof. Dominic Zerulla
Position: Full Professor, Group Leader and Principal Investigator
Bio: Founding member and principal investigator of the UCD Plasmonics and Ultrafast NanoOptics Research Group since arrival in October 2004. Previously, following studies in Physics (HHUD) and a PhD in Physical Chemistry (Wilhelm-Ostwald-Institute, University of Leipzig, Germany), Leader of the Biophotonics group at the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, Germany, where the habilitation qualification was awarded in the same group that developed the first optical configuration for surface plasmon polariton excitation. Furthermore, invited as a visiting Professor for Advanced Optics at the Astrakhan State University, Russia before joining UCD in 2004. Authored four book chapters, more than 94 articles, reports & letters in the fields of surface science, nano-optics, and plasmonics and has given more than 110 talks in international conferences and universities. A key investigator in the SFI Strategic Research Cluster on Solar Energy Conversion (SRC SEC) and has been PI on a number of further SFI, Enterprise Ireland and international grants, and was awarded the UCD EMPS Teaching Award in 2008.
Dr. Silas O'Toole
Position: Postdoctorate
Bio: Graduated UCD in 2018 with a first class honours in Theoretical Physics. Received the Thomas Preston Scholarship from UCD School of Physics to carry out a PhD with the chosen supervisor, Prof. Dominic Zerulla, in the area of plasmonics and nanotechnology. Now finished the PhD with several publications and patents to name. Duties include laboratory experimental work as well as computer based simulations using MEEP and COMSOL.
Enjoys baking, learning the violin, and aerial acrobatics.
Ciarán Barron
Position: PhD Student (final year)
Bio: Graduated from UCD in 2018 with a first class honours in Physics (BSc). Graduated with an MSc in Computer science from the School of Computer Science in UCD in 2020 before joining the group as a PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Dominic Zerulla. Currently, in the final year of the PhD working on a plasmonics based imaging system with a focus on sensor development, manufacturing and characterisation.
Enjoys watching rugby and learning the guitar in free time.
Giulia di Fazio
Position: PhD Student (final year)
Bio: Graduated from Trieste University in 2016 with a first class honours in Materials Engineering (major in Nanotechnology) and from a master's with a first class honours in Engineering Physics from Milan Polytechnic in 2019. At the moment, pursuing a PhD programme involving plasmonics and nano-optics, focusing on computer simulations and laboratory experimental work including AFM-related techniques for imaging and nanomanipulation.
Most free time is spent rock climbing, hiking, playing the viola, and cooking.
Conor O'Donnell
Position: PhD Student (final year)
Bio: Graduated from UCD with a first class honours in Astrophysics before completing a master's in Material Science and Engineering at Queen's University Belfast. Awarded Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship 2020 to carry out a PhD in the areas of nano-optics and plasmonics.
Interests include judo, hiking, and reading.
Conor Foy
Position: PhD Student (final year)
Bio: Graduated from UCD in 2019 with a first class honours, BSc in Physics. Continued on to complete a MPhil in Machine Learning and Machine Intelligence from the University of Cambridge in 2020, publishing the results of my thesis in CHI2021. Worked at Analog Devices in the Design Evaluation Group for a year before joining the Plasmonics and Ultrafast NanoOptics Research Group in UCD as a PhD student.
Other interests include rock climbing and hobbyist electronics.
Samuel Kenny
Position: PhD Student (final year)
Bio: Graduated from DIT in 2018 with a first class honours in Physics Technology before doing an M1 master programme at Université Paris-Saclay. Then, graduated with a first class honours from a UCD physics master’s degree in 2021. Continued on from the successful master’s research project involving surface plasmon resonance with Prof. Dominic Zerulla to a PhD programme focusing on a related experiment.
Interested in cycling, music, known to regularly watch sports, and casually plays table tennis.