Wendy Ruth Flavell (born 1 September 1961) is

Vice Dean {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019 A sub-dean is a person who acts as an assistant to a dean either in church circuit as a priest or minister or an academic institution. They are, however, not a vice-dean. A vice-dean is a person who can deputize a de ...

for Research and a Professor of

Surface Physics Surface science is the study of physical and chemical phenomena that occur at the interface of two phases, including solid– liquid interfaces, solid–gas interfaces, solid–vacuum interfaces, and liquid–gas interfaces. It includes the f ...

in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

. Her research investigates the

electronic structure In quantum chemistry, electronic structure is the state of motion of electrons in an electrostatic field created by stationary nuclei. The term encompasses both the wave functions of the electrons and the energies associated with them. Electro ...

of complex metal oxides,

chalcogenide : 220px, Cadmium sulfide, a prototypical metal chalcogenide, is used as a yellow pigment. A chalcogenide is a chemical compound consisting of at least one chalcogen anion and at least one more electropositive element. Although all group 16 elements ...

photoemission The photoelectric effect is the emission of electrons when electromagnetic radiation, such as light, hits a material. Electrons emitted in this manner are called photoelectrons. The phenomenon is studied in condensed matter physics, and solid sta ...

and

photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

Education and early life

Flavell was born in

Bilston Bilston is a market town, ward, and civil parish located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is close to the borders of Sandwell and Walsall. The nearest towns are Darlaston, Wednesbury, and Willenhall. Historically in Staffordshi ...

to Maurice and June Flavell. She was educated at

Wolverhampton Girls' High School (Game Before the Prize) , established = 1911 , closed = , type = Grammar school;academy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = Trudi Young , r_head = , cha ...

and studied physics (Bachelor of Arts) at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

followed by a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1986. Her doctoral research investigated

electron spectroscopy Electron spectroscopy refers to a group formed by techniques based on the analysis of the energies of emitted electrons such as Photoelectric effect, photoelectrons and Auger electrons. This group includes X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), wh ...

of metal oxides and supervised by P.A. Cox.

Career and research

Flavell joined

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

as a Royal Society University Research Fellow. In 1990 Flavell joined the

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research. On 1 Oct ...

(UMIST) in the Department of Chemistry. In 1998 Flavell became the sixth woman in the United Kingdom to be appointed Professor of Physics. She launched a scheme to promote women in science. She was part of the strategy group that designed the 4GLS at

Daresbury Laboratory Daresbury Laboratory is a scientific research laboratory based at Sci-Tech Daresbury campus near Daresbury in Halton, Cheshire, England. The laboratory began operations in 1962 and was officially opened on 16 June 1967 as the Daresbury Nuclear ...

in 2004. She is a member of the

Living Lab. Flavell is interested in using nanoparticles and

Quantum dot Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor particles a few nanometres in size, having light, optical and electronics, electronic properties that differ from those of larger particles as a result of quantum mechanics. They are a central topic in nanote ...

s for efficient fuel cells and new materials for

. She works on

scanning tunnelling microscopy A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is a type of microscope used for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Its development in 1981 earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, then at IBM Zürich, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986. ...

(STM),

X-ray absorption near edge structure X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), also known as near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), is a type of absorption spectroscopy that indicates the features in the X-ray absorption spectra ( XAS) of condensed matter due to the ...

(NEXAFS) and

extended X-ray absorption fine structure Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), along with X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), is a subset of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Like other absorption spectroscopies, XAS techniques follow Beer's law. The X-ray ab ...

. She has studied

titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or CI 77891. It is a white solid that is insolubl ...

and

Tin(IV) Oxide Tin(IV) oxide, also known as stannic oxide, is the inorganic compound with the formula SnO2. The mineral form of SnO2 is called cassiterite, and this is the main ore of tin. With many other names, this oxide of tin is an important material in tin ...

. She is interested in the surface reactivity of nanocrystals and dynamics of charge carriers in solar cells. She attempts to understand how solar cells age at the surface, in efforts to design passivation strategies. Flavell demonstrated that

cadmium telluride Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is a stable crystalline compound formed from cadmium and tellurium. It is mainly used as the semiconducting material in cadmium telluride photovoltaics and an infrared optical window. It is usually sandwiched with cadmi ...

quantum dots can have near unity quantum yields. In 2014 she served as deputy chair of the physics panel of the

Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British higher education institutions. It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is underta ...

(REF). She served on the Council of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physica ...

in 2017 and on the Newton International Fellowship committee for the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. Her research has been funded by the

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical sciences, mainly to universi ...

(EPSRC) and

Science and Technology Facilities Council The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is a United Kingdom government agency that carries out research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astro ...

(STFC).

Public engagement

In 2011 Flavell's research group demonstrated their work on quantum dots at the

Summer Exhibition. She has delivered a

Pint of Science Pint of Science is an annual science festival that aims to communicate contemporary scientific developments to the public by bringing scientists to pubs, cafés and other public places to share their research and findings. It is mainly organised ...

talk and discussed the

photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless, so they always ...

on ''

In Our Time In Our Time may refer to: * ''In Our Time'' (1944 film), a film starring Ida Lupino and Paul Henreid * ''In Our Time'' (1982 film), a Taiwanese anthology film featuring director Edward Yang; considered the beginning of the "New Taiwan Cinema" * ''In ...

'' in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flavell, Wendy 1961 births Living people Women materials scientists and engineers People educated at Wolverhampton Girls' High School British materials scientists Alumni of the University of Oxford Fellows of the Institute of Physics Academics of the University of Manchester Academics of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology Academics of Imperial College London