Current Group Members

Prof. Martin McCoustra	Group Leader Martin received his B.Sc. from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, in 1983. He remained there and, under the supervision of Professor J. Pfab, obtained his Ph.D. for studies of the photodissociation dynamics of small molecules containing the nitric oxide group in 1986. After a further 18 months spent as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Heriot-Watt, his first academic appointment was as a Lecturer in Physical Chemistry in the School of Chemical Sciences of the University of East Anglia in 1988. In 1994, he moved to take up the position of Lecturer in Physical Chemistry in the School of Chemistry of the University of Nottingham. In August 1999, he was promoted to a Senior Lectureship in Physical Chemistry. Subsequently in August 2003, he was promoted to a Readership in Chemical Physics. His promotion to Chair in Chemical Physics followed in January 2006. He took up his current post as Professor of Chemical Physics in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, in August 2006. Email:M.R.S.McCoustra@hw.ac.uk
Dr. Mark Collings	Postdoctoral Research Associate Mark graduated from Sydney University in 1991, with a BE in Chemical Engineering. He then obtained a B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of New South Wales in 1994, performing synthesis and surface analysis of polymers in his Honours year. He moved to the UK to start postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Dr Richard Lambert. His doctoral research in surface science investigated the chemistry of alkynes over palladium catalysts. He joined the surface astrochemistry group at the University of Nottingham in 2000, and moved to Heriot-Watt University with the group in 2006. His research has involved the study of the interaction with water ice of a range of astrophysically relevant molecules. Email:M.P.Collings@hw.ac.uk
Demian Marchione	PhD Student / LASSIE ESR Demian graduated from the University of Perugia in 2009 with a B. Sc. degree. Then he received a Master degree in Physical Chemistry, always in Perugia, july 2011. His Master project consisted in the synthesis and study of Au(I) complexes with heterocyclic carbenes using theoretical and experimental NMR techniques. In the 8th of August he started his appointment at the Heriot-Watt University as PhD student and Early Stage Researcher within the Lassie network. Under the supervision of Martin McCoustra he is now working at his project, focused on the non-thermal desorption of aromatic molecules from inter stellar dust grains. Email:dm290@hw.ac.uk
Alexander Rosu-Finsen	PhD Student Alex graduated from Heriot-Watt University during the summer of 2012 with a Master degree in chemistry. His Master degree, supervised by Prof. Martin McCoustra, was concerned with low-energy electron irradiation of acetonitrile-containing ices as part of the Heriot-Watt Astrochemistry group. He continued his studies of chemistry in the interstellar medium in September 2012 when he received the James Watt Scholarship. His Ph.D. project is centred about the formation of small molecules on interstellar dust grain mimics using atomic beams, continuing under the supervision of Prof. Martin McCoustra. Email:ar163@hw.ac.uk

Project Students

Former Group Members

Dr. Jérôme Lasne	Postdoctoral Research Associate / LASSIE Experienced Researcher Jérôme graduated from University Paris 7 in 2007 with a M. Sc. Degree in Plasma Physics. Then, he started a Ph.D. in University Paris 6 under the supervision of Dr Philippe Parent. During his doctoral research, he studied two aspects of the physical chemistry of ice; (i) the adsorption/reaction of atmospherically-relevant molecules with the surface of water ice; (ii) the photochemistry of molecules relevant to the ISM in ice. He joined the astrochemistry group for a postdoctoral position in 2012 to investigate the formation of small molecules on inter stellar dust grain surfaces using atomic beams. Email:J.A.Lasne@hw.ac.uk
Ali Abdulgalil	PhD Student Ali graduated from Sebha University, Libya in 2000, with a B.Sc. in Chemistry. He graduated from Sebha University with an M.Sc. Degree in Chemistry in January 2007. He started his PhD in Surface Astrophysics group in October 2008. His research focuses on the study of biomolecular species on grain mimics and their role in the chemistry of interstellar medium. Email:agma1@hw.ac.uk
Victoria Frankland	Previous PhD Student Vicki graduated from the University of Nottingham with a B.Sc. in Chemistry and Molecular Physics in July 2006. Her research in the group mainly focussed on the formation of small molecules on grain surfaces, especially H2O, using atomic beams. Email:vlf1@hw.ac.uk
John Thrower	Previous PhD Student John graduated from the University of Nottingham with an M.Sci. in Chemistry and Molecular Physics in July 2005. He started his Ph.D in the Surface Astrochemistry group in September 2005. His research in the group mainly focussed on the photon and electron stimulated processing of interstellar ices, particularly those containing benzene. He is now working as a postdoc in the group of Liv Hornekær in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus, Denmark. Email:thrower(at)phys.au.dk
Simon Green	Previous PhD Student Simon graduated from the University of Nottingham with an M.Sci. degree in Chemistry in July 2004. He started his Ph.D. in the autumn of that year and is mainly working on the thermal desorption of H2O/CH3OH/CO ices and novel grain mimics. Email:sdg4@hw.ac.uk
Dr. Helen Fraser	Previous Postdoctoral Research Associate Helen obtained her B.Sc. in Physics and Chemistry from the University of Manchester, followed by a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. She then moved to Nottingham where as a Postdoc she built the Surface Astrochemistry Experiment, now at Heriot-Watt. Following a further period of Postdoc work at Leiden University in the Netherlands she took up her current position as Lecturer in Physics at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Details of her research can be found here.
Rui Chen	Previous PhD Student
John Dever	Previous PhD Student