Patrick Robertson
Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science
Contact
Biography
Patrick did his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at the University of Western Australia, followed by a DPhil in Physical Chemistry under the supervision of Dr Evan Robertson, at La Trobe University. His doctoral research used infrared and electronic double resonance spectroscopy to study the shapes of flexible biomolecules in the gas phase, and the impacts of solvation on the conformational flexibility. Following graduation, Patrick worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bristol, with Prof Andrew Orr-Ewing FRS studying bimolecular chemical reaction dynamics using crossed molecular beam techniques and photochemical dynamics in solution using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. He then moved to the University of Oxford, where he worked for Prof Claire Vallance, leading research into electron- and photo-initiated reaction dynamics using correlation imaging techniques, and developed new instrumentation to prepare non-volatile molecules in the gas phase. In parallel to this, Patrick taught Physical Chemistry at Hertford College, Oxford, and began his own independent research into ultrafast photochemical dynamics using Coulomb exploision imaging at X-ray free electron lasers. Patrick joined the 糖心原创 in June 2024, where he is developing new experimental techniques in his lab that will bring the power of time-resolved Coulomb explosion imaging to study bimolecular reactions, and continuing his work at X-ray laser facilities.
Expertise Summary
physical chemistry; chemical reaction dynamics; ultrafast processes; molecular spectroscopy; XFEL science
Teaching Summary
I strongly believe that the most transferable skills you learn in a chemistry degree come from developing a fundamental understanding of the physical world and the mastery of the machinery needed to… read more
Working with us will give you hands-on experience in any or all of, lasers, optics, high-vacuum instrumentation, method development, scientific programming in python, quantum chemical calculations, science communication and an introduction to an international network of physical chemistry and chemical physicists. If you're interested in getting involved at any level of study, please do get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.
At this stage, the group will be taking on students in the 2025/26 academic year. We will be advertising PhD position(s) and will have MSci projects available very soon.
I strongly believe that the most transferable skills you learn in a chemistry degree come from developing a fundamental understanding of the physical world and the mastery of the machinery needed to describe it. This understanding is largely about building an intuition for chemistry - and this intuition is rooted in mathematical fluency. I know that mathematics is not subject for many chemistry students are passionate about (I was one of you), but if you put in the effort to become fluent, then you will see chemistry in a whole new light. Luckily, very little of the mathematics needed for chemistry goes beyond the A-level curriculum; so fluency is well within your reach. In my experience, this can only come from repeated practice. To give an analogy, mathematics is like cardio at the gym, it's not something you can shortcut - it requires consistent, often tedious, effort to build up conditioning, and if you let it slip, it begins to atrophy.
So, as you might guess, my teaching interests are somewhat heavily slanted towards maths-heavy topics. I currently teach Complex Numbers, Vectors and Matrices in the first-year, and Statistical Mechanics and Reaction Rate Theory in 3rd year. You'll also see me in 1st year labs and for tutorials across all years of study.
Lastly, I really like teaching people who want to be taught. If you ever want help with any aspect of physical chemistry, then shoot me an email to arrange a meeting, or just try your luck and knock on my office door. Chances are I'll be able to spare a few minutes, and if I can't then I'll be able to arrange a more suitable time.