I received my B.Sc. degree from the University of Birmingham and my Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield for a thesis entitled “Properties of hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Nanostructures”). After three years as a PDRA at the University of Warwick working on SiGe epitaxy, I returned to Sheffield in 1990 to join the EPSRC National Centre for III–V Technologies, first as a PDRA and then as research fellow. In 1988 I spent a half year working as a visiting researcher at the University of Minnesota. In 2000 I joined Marconi PLC as a senior scientist working on GaAs microwave devices. In 2003, I returned to the University of Sheffield as a senior research fellow (staff) and in 2007 was awarded a personal chair.

My research is focussed on semiconductor epitaxy; a field in which I have published over 500 papers, made over 200 conference presentations, over 30 invited talks, produced several book chapters and a few editorials. Around 15 of my publications have 100 citations. For over a decade I have served on the major conference steering committees in my field. I have also received two international awards: a Pierre de Fermat fellowship from France and the Huang Kun Medal from the Beijing Institute of Semiconductors. Starting with silicon MBE at Warwick University, I moved on to work on III-V materials from 1990 onwards and now have almost 30 years’ experience in MBE with particular emphasis on III-V semiconductor nanostructuring (including quantum dots, nanowires, selective area growth etc)

My current research interests include novel electronic materials, semiconductor nanostructures, electronics-photonics integration, ultrafast photonic devices and the application of photonics for sensing and healthcare applications. Recent work has focussed on methods for the in-situ patterning of semiconductors, work which includes the EU Horizon 2020 project “Nanostencil” which I am coordinating. The project is focused on the application of laser interference lithography to pattern semiconductor surfaces during the growth process. Other areas of activity include high speed semiconductor optical switching and novel quantum photonic devices.