Condensed matter physics is a major underpinning area of science and technology. For example, the physics of electrons in solids underpins much of modern technology and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. We propose to create a Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) which will address the national need to develop researchers equipped with the skill sets and perspective to make worldwide impact in this area. The research themes covered address some very fundamental questions in science such as the physics of superconductors, novel magnetic materials, single atomic layer crystals, plasmonic structures, and metamaterials, and also more applied topics in the power electronics, optoelectronics and sensor development fields. There are strong connections between fundamental and applied condensed matter physics. The goal of the Centre is to provide high calibre graduates with a focussed but comprehensive training programme in the most important physical aspects of these important materials, from intelligent design (first principles electronic structure calculations and modelling), via cutting-edge materials synthesis, characterisation and sophisticated instrumentation, through to identification and realisation of exciting new applications. In addition programme development will emphasise transferable skills including business & enterprise, outreach and communication. As stated in the impact section, physics-dependent businesses are of major importance to the UK economy.

How do objects behave when they are weightless? This is a question that has fascinated generations of scientists and captured the imagination of the general public. To address this question of fundamental importance for space travel, experiments are performed in space-craft, orbiting the Earth, or in free-fall. Diamagnetic levitation (DL) is a promising technique that uses a powerful magnetic field generated by an electromagnet, to simulate the weightless conditions in orbit, on the Earth. It allows diamagnetic materials, such as water and biological organisms, to levitate above the magnet. These materials are repelled from the magnetic field, but too weakly to notice ordinarily, unlike iron for example, which is strongly attracted to the field. Just as the centrifugal force balances the weight of an orbiting spaceship, the diamagnetic force opposes the force of gravity on a levitated object, so that it floats as though in space. In 1863, Plateau was inspired to experiment on a spinning drop of oil, floated in an alcohol mixture, to model the Earth's shape. He recognised that surface tension, holding the drop together, could model the action of gravity holding a planet or star together. It was later realised that the surface tension of an electrically-charged drop could also model the forces binding nucleons inside an atomic nucleus. I will use DL to study what Plateau couldn't: a drop suspended freely in space. I will investigate the possibility of using this drop to discover clues to the behaviour of both astronomical objects and the atomic nucleus. By studying vibrations of the drop, I will also obtain its surface tension. This non-contact measurement technique will enable the study of very reactive liquids and supercooled liquids.I will also study how levitated 'rain' drops vibrate, distort and shatter in electric fields, which influences the behaviour of electrical storms, and image the spray of small droplets that issue from the drop upon break-up. The latter process is important in extracting biological molecules from liquids for analysis, winning John Fenn a Nobel Prize in 2002, and revolutionising the search for new medicinal drugs.Granular materials are everywhere, from asteroids to cornflakes. Understanding the dynamics of the granules is important in many industries, e.g. food and pharmaceutics, and in studying many natural processes, e.g. landslides. In zero-gravity, granules are always suspended in the liquid. Vibrating the liquid causes granules to move and self-organise into three-dimensional patterns, caused by the motion of the liquid around the grains. I will perform experiments on levitated granules to investigate the interactions between the grains and the liquid; such knowledge should ultimately lead to significant improvements in the control and exploitation of granular materials on Earth and in space. By collaborating with other researchers, I will also explore how DL can be applied to a broader range of topics. I will use it to obtain precise measurements of the magnetisation of biological tissues in a strong magnetic field, fundamentally important for medical magnetic resonance imaging. In conventional methods, the magnetisation of the sample container introduces significant uncertainty into the measurement. Since a levitated sample does not require a container, we avoid this complication. I will study the nucleation and growth of bubbles in levitating gas-saturated liquids, directly benefitting our understanding of, e.g. decompression sickness ('the bends') in SCUBA accidents. By levitating the liquid, we can observe the growing bubble without it detaching from its nucleation site and floating away. I will also investigate how a strong magnetic field can be used to construct a mesh of hollow tubular protein structures in levitating solutions, which could form templates for nano-scale electric circuits or 'scaffolds' for cell growth.

Unpaired electrons play vital roles in e.g. respiration and photosynthesis, are associated with human diseases including cancer and Alzheimer's disease and are at the basis of the modern computer and many industrially used catalysts. We propose to set up a new research facility at Imperial College London which employs a powerful technique called ulse Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, to identify and characterise such unpaired electrons (free radicals) and gain detailed insight into the structure and dynamics of paramagnetic compounds. The facility (PEPR) will therefore contribute to solving grand, societal challenges such as healthy aging, sustainable energy generation and storage, greener and more effective catalytic solutions for chemical manufacturing and developing a new generation of electronic devices. PEPR will encompass state-of-the-art pulse EPR instrumentation and in partnership with University College London we will develop new instrumentation and methodology to push the boundaries of what is possible with EPR today and widen the applications of this already extremely versatile technique. We will do this by combining EPR spectroscopy with electrochemistry, a powerful method for investigating oxidation-reduction processes that often lie at the heart of systems with unpaired electrons and by enabling pulse EPR investigations of paramagnetic compounds that cannot be accumulated in sufficiently large quantities to be studied with current commercially-available instrumentation. PEPR will therefore bring new capabilities to the UK, build on the existing research strengths and infrastructure at Imperial College and engage new academic users and research centres across London, regionally and UK-wide. The research facilitated by PEPR will have an immediate impact on UK science, with academic beneficiaries in a diverse range of research disciplines, and a significant people-pipeline through the many affiliated PhD students and PDRAs. Moreover, the facility's location at Imperial College's newly-established and growing innovation campus at White City provides a unique opportunity to encourage academia and industry to collaborate more closely on common, global challenges. Access to the wider community will be provided through outreach events such as the Great Exhibition Road Festival and the Imperial Lates, as well as by including the facility into the tours that are already taking place regularly in the Molecular Sciences Research Hub where PEPR will be located.