Laurie Winkless
Current Interests
Laurie Winkless is currently Higher Research Scientist in The Functional Materials Group at The National Physical Laboratory. Her main research focus is on thermoelectric materials and devices, specifically on reliable characterisation of thermoelectric modules at high temperatures. Alongside her work at NPL, she is carrying out a part-time PhD on the same topic, under the supervision of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (part of UCL). Alongside her main focus, Laurie is also an experienced user of of a number of microcopy techniques, including Scanning Thermal Microscopy (SThM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and a wide range of optical characterisation techniques. She also has some chemical and cleanroom experience.
Laurie is a Member of the Institute of Physics (IOP), is a STEMNET Ambassador and is working with The Naked Scientists.
Biography
Laurie received her BSc degree in Physics with Astrophysics from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in 2005. During her degree, she obtained a scholarship from the Irish Government to study and work at the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, where she spent two months. Laurie then moved to University College London (UCL) where she gained an MSc in Space Science. She joined NPL at the end of 2006 and has been involved in a wide range of projects – from DNA self-assembly of devices to patterned hydrophobic surfaces. More recently, Laurie was also involved in defining the Nanotechnology Roadmap for the European Space Agency. Her focus on thermoelectrics stemmed from her space background, but now extends to the automotive and power industries. She is also an experienced science communicator, taking part in numerous science festivals, giving many talks in schools, universities, teachers' conferences and museums and, in 2011, represented NPL at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition. Laurie was recently recruited by The Naked Scientists, the makers of a popular science radio show (and podcast) of the same name.
Laurie has published numerous papers and NPL reports. She has also published some popular science articles online.
Selected Publications
- Mapping the placement of oligonucleotide molecules using scanning probe microscopy
Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 83 (1), pages 10-15 (2011) - Nano launches into space
Materials Today, 14 (1-2), page 55 (2011) - Quenching of Er(III) luminescence by ligand C-H vibrations: Implications for the use of erbium complexes in telecommunications
Applied Physics Letters, 89 (11), 111115 (2006)
Links
Contact details
E-mail: laurie.winkless@npl.co.uk
Tel: 020 8943 8683