OUPPS (Open University People Profile System)

Biography

Professional biography

Dr Kate Nixon graduated from Flinders University (Australia) with a B.Tech (Forensic and Analytical Chemistry) and B.Sc (Honours) before undertaking her PhD in Electron Momentum Spectroscopy. She has been a researcher within the Photon Science Institute at the University of Manchester as a Royal Society Newton Fellow and Marie Curie International Incoming Fellow and at the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (Brazil). Dr Nixon spent 4 years at the University of Wolverhampton as a lecturer in physical chemistry beefore joining the Open University.

Research interests

Dr Nixon’s research focuses on electron collisions with atoms and molecules. Applications of this research include aiding understanding of cancer treatments by radiotherapy and optimising the yield of second generation biofuels.

Projects

Electron momentum spectroscopy of radiosensitizers New benchmark data for assessing the theoretical models

• Implement a new experimental programme in order to investigate the electronic structure, in energy and momentum, of molecules of applied importance. • Develop techniques to achieve target beams of in-tact thermally sensitive neutral molecules for electron scattering measurements, dramatically expanding the number of feasible targets. • Deliver accurate benchmark data to assess accuracy of quantum chemical models used to predict radiosensitizing potential

Laser-Based Thermal Desorption of Biomolecules for Electron Scattering Experiments

• To implement a new experimental programme in order to investigate the electronic structure of thermally labile biomolecules • To develop a new technique to achieve target beams of in-tact nucleobases to allow electron scattering measurements from these molecules for the first time • To deliver accurate data for evaluation of quantum chemical models that describe the physico-chemical properties of molecules.