Dr Anita Dawes

Professional biography

2020 – Present    I am a Lecturer in Physics at the School of Physical Sciences at the Open University.

​2016 – 2019    Leverhulme Research Fellow - reserach in laboratory molecular astrophysics / astrochemistry.

2013 – 2016    In 2013 I returned to research at the Shchool of Physical Sciences at the OU following a 7-year career break. My return was made possible with a Daphne Jackson Fellowship, co-sponsored by the Open University and Science and Technology Facilities Council. The tailor-made fellowship enabled me to re-train and refresh my skills and regain confidence as a researcher, allowing me to work part-time whilst looking after my young family. Towards the end of the three years, the Daphne Jackson re-training programme paid off and I was successful in securing a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (Oct 2016 - Jun 2019), continuing my  pre-career-break research in laboratory molecular astrophysics.

(2006 – 2013   Career break, becoming a parent to three children...)

2003 – 2006    Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Open University; applying Experimental Molecular Physics to Astrochemistry and helping establish the Astrochemistry Laboratory that has now become the Molecular Astrophysics Lab (2017).

2000 – 2003    PhD in Laboratory Molecular Physics, University College London

1996 – 2000    Undergraduate MSci degree in Physics, University College London

Research interests

My research interests are in Experimetnal Molecular Physics applied to Astrophysical environments. I simulate cold space environments such as dense molecular clouds from which stars form (including protoplanetary discs around baby stars or icy surfaces of Outer Solar System bodies) under conrtolled laboraory conditions to study the chemical and physical properties of cosmic ice analogues. My specific interests are:

• creating astrophysical ice analogues under controlled laboratory conditions (in situ vapour deposition, acoustic levitation)
• probing astrophysical ice analogues in situ with a combination of complementary infrared and vacuum ultraviolet spectrocopic techniques, using a unique portable experimental system
• systematically investigating how the physical and chemical properties of ices grown in the laboratory are affected by laboratory parameters such as molecular composition, thickness, temperature, concentration and mixing/layering and how these relate to real astrophysical environments
• specialising in high resolution vaccuum ultraviolet spectroscopy (115 - 340 nm), using synchrotron radiation at the ASTRID2 Synchrotron Facility, Denmark, to determine photoabsorption cross sections of condensed ices and ice mixtures in order to better understand the electronic structure of condensed molecules and quantify photochemical processes
• investigating the role of large condensed phase molecules such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as constituents of astrochemical ices in influencing chemical and desorption processes
• high resolution laboratory infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for the interpretation of astronomical spectra in star-forming regions
• investigating the effect of realistric micro-/nano-scale dust grain size, shape and composition on the physical and chemical properties of ices by exploiting the technique of acoustic levitation
• laboratory investigatiion of optical scattering properties of levitated sub-micron dust, ice and aerosol particles in an ultrasonic trap.

Snowflakes 'grown' and levitated in the ultrasonic trap for containerless investigation of their optical properties.

Icy soot aggregates grown in the ultrasonic trap as analogues of icy dust particles in star-forming regions of space

Teaching interests

I am currently the Module Team Chair for the Level 1 Module, SM123 Physics and Space.

I was part of the module team for the production of Level 3 Module, SM381 Electromagentism, leading the development of the remote Hall effect OpenScience lab experiement and an interactive screen experiment to investigate Coulomb's law (2019-2022).

As part of the production module team for Level 2 Module, SXPS288 Remote Experiments in Physics and Space, I have been involved in developing a remote Gas Cell OpenScience lab experiment to probe gas samples representing planetary atmospheres, using infrared spectroscopy (2018-2020).

I was a Physics Specialist on the module team for the Level 1 Module S111 Questions in Science (2016-2018).

I was a Topic Specialist on the Level 2 Module SXPA288 Practical Science: Physics and Astronomy (2016-2018).