Dr Adam Thorn
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Role
System Administrator at the University's Department of Chemistry
Supervisor for the second year Physics A course
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Research
Low-dimensional semiconductor systems; surface acoustic waves; computational quantum mechanics
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Awards, Degrees, Honours
MA,MSci,PhD
I was an undergraduate student at Cambridge, where I read Natural Sciences. After graduating I was a researcher in the Semiconductor Physics group at the Cavendish Laboratory, which led to my PhD.
My research combined theoretical modelling and computational simulation to study the motion of electrons in semiconductors. I studied systems that used sound waves travelling across the surface of a semiconductor to transport single electrons. These systems have many uses, including: generating a high-precision current, producing single photons for use in quantum cryptography, studying quantum mechanics, and – potentially – building a quantum computer.
I am now a System Administrator at the University's Department of Chemistry. I have taught a variety of Mathematics and Physics courses from the NatSci Tripos, and currently supervise the second year Physics A course.