Caitlin Duffy, PhD student

PhD student Caitlin Duffy started in 2019 in the group of Nigel Hussey. Her research is focussing on the quantum critical point in thin-film cuprates, in the hope it reveals more about their superconducting properties.

When she is in the lab you can find her in cell 5, as she needs high magnetic fields and strong THz radiation for her research. The novel combination allows for plenty of hands-on work, creativity and collaboration; not to mention the exciting possibility of advancing the field of overdoped cuprates by quite literally shining light on unknown territory. Alongside the complexity and anticipated difficulty of this technique, comes a plethora of ideas for experiments due to the high number of variables there are to play with!

Caitlin studied Physics at St Andrews and to make the Scottish picture complete she worked in a whisky distillery (you can ask her anything about whisky. Try it, she likes a challenge). After her Masters she wanted to move to Europe, and after an interview with Nigel Hussey and a tour by Alix McCollam she choose HFML-FELIX as her destination. She likes the atmosphere and the people. And of course her project is quite challenging. But as said, she is fond of challenges in live.

When she’s not puzzling on physics things, she likes to sing, play the piano and of course drink good whisky.