Success with the STFC for Three Early Career Researchers
Fellowship Opportunities Women In STEM 26th April 2023
Three early-career researchers in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester, Dr Kara Lynch, Dr Alex Keshavarzi, and Dr Morgan Hibberd, have been awarded prestigious Ernest Rutherford Fellowships by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). These fellowships will provide funding for the next 5 years, allowing the researchers to further their ground-breaking work in their respective fields of Nuclear Physics, Particle Physics, and Accelerator Physics. This is a notable achievement, as only 10 fellowships were awarded nationally this year, making it a highly competitive and selective process. Furthermore, Dr Lynch has secured a Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Research Fellowship, the flagship scheme for investing in Early Career Researchers at the University of Manchester.
Over the next 5 years, each researcher will be funded to lead research in their field:
Dr Lynch will carry out novel laser-based spectroscopy of proton-emitting nuclei, working with world-leading facilities in Europe and the USA. Her work will provide a powerful test of our understanding of how atomic nuclei decay, by probing the charge radius distribution of unusual elements. Her work will provide a powerful test of our understanding of nuclear structure at the limits of existence, by probing the charge distribution of extremely rare proton-emitting nuclei.

“The Nuclear Group at Manchester are pioneers in the field of laser spectroscopy, and so my research programme will greatly benefit from the Group’s vast experience and expertise, as well as the state-of-the-art facilities available at the Photon Science Institute. Coupled with the strong support I have received on returning to academia after a career break, Manchester is the perfect place to carry out my research programme.”
– Dr Kara Lynch
Dr Keshavarzi will undertake a program of both experimental and theoretical work to push the boundaries of the Standard Model of particle physics. While this model is the most tested theory of all known particles and forces, it does not explain dark matter or why the universe is dominated by matter over antimatter. He will work with colleagues at Fermilab in the US and at PSI in Switzerland to study muon interactions to probe interactions with unprecedented sensitivity.

“The Particle Physics Research group at Manchester is a world-leader in its attempts to understand the fundamental structure and nature of our universe, and Muon Physics is a growing area with major potential to discover new particles or forces needed to explain the observe universe. This ERF will allow me to expand Manchester’s Muon Physics research to take a leading role in three high-profile international experiments as well as perform cutting-edge theoretical research and will therefore provide major contributions to the UK’s particle physics research output. This could lead to the first discovery of new particles or forces outside of the Standard Model of Particle Physics (humanity’s best current description of the universe’s particle and their interactions) that could provide answers to the universe’s unexplained mysteries, e.g. what is Dark Matter?”
– Dr Alex Keshavarzi
Dr Hibberd will develop novel tools to accelerate and manipulate relativistic electron beams using high-frequency laser and terahertz techniques. His research in collaboration with the Advanced Wakefield Experiment (AWAKE) at CERN will demonstrate a route to drastically shrink the size and cost of future particle accelerators. This will open up new opportunities from fundamental particle physics to applied research, exploiting compact high-energy colliders and accelerator-based light sources.

“This ERF provides the ideal platform for me to build my research career in the field of novel acceleration and Manchester is the perfect place to achieve this, with world-leading laser facilities at the University and a unique accelerator test facility within easy reach at Daresbury Laboratory.”
– Dr Morgan Hibberd
The Ernest Rutherford Fellowships are designed to enable early career researchers to establish an independent research program, and support both excellent research and candidates with the potential to become leaders in their field. Around 170 applicants typically apply for around 10 positions; with a 6% success rate, the scheme is one of the most competitive offered at this career stage. All three Manchester applicants were successful in this round.
Dr Patrick Parkinson (Department Head of Research) congratulated the candidates, saying “all three of our successful fellows have demonstrated that they can become research leaders. By securing this fellowship, they now have the opportunity to develop major independent programs in three different fields. This demonstrates the breadth of research activity in Manchester and is a credit to the fellows as well as their groups and mentors”.
Accelerator physicsEarly career researchErnest Rutherfordfellowshipsnuclear and particle physicsNuclear Physicsparticle physicsphysicsSTFC
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