EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellow, University of Bristol

Chris is an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellow in the School of Physics at the University of Bristol. He is both a theoretical physicist and computational materials scientist who works on the development, implementation, and application of novel modelling methodologies to technologically relevant materials.
Following completion of his PhD, Chris spent time working as postdoctoral research fellow on a joint UK-US project combining theory and experiment to address some of the challenges associated with the development and optimisation of rare-earth-lean and rare-earth-free permanent magnets for advanced engineering applications.

Chris is now an independent researcher at the University of Bristol, where his work focuses on understanding aspects of the physics of multicomponent alloys and high entropy materials. With a track-record of interdisciplinary collaboration, demonstrated by his publications with co-authors from a range of disciplines, Chris has previously developed and released open-source software available on GitHub. The Collaborative Computational Project (CCP) model has been invaluable to Chris’s career development so far. He is actively involved in the CCP9 (computational electronic structure of condensed matter) community, as well as the CCP5 (computer simulation of condensed phases) network due to the multiscale nature of his research.

“Being a CoSeC fellow will enable me to act as an ambassador for the CCP model, highlighting the benefits of networking and collaborative development of community codes for acceleration of research projects to the wider academic community,” says Christopher. “I am also excited by the prospect of being involved in continued discussions to ensure the CCP model remains relevant in the future—in particular focussing on the challenges around porting well-established community codes for use on accelerator-based systems.”