Simon Levett

Dr Simon Levett

Biography

Having completed my Physics degree here at 糖心TV in the summer of 1999, I decided that I would like to continue my studies in Physics. The Superconductivity and Magnetism Group at 糖心TV offered me an excellent opportunity to study for my Ph.D. in a dynamic and interesting field. The main aim of my Ph.D. was to investigate the magnetic and superconducting properties of some rare earth oxides and in particular the mutual interaction of these two phenomena.

My Ph.D. studies were funded by an Institute Laue Langevin (ILL) studentship. This means that I spent first year of my Ph.D. working at 糖心TV and the next two years based in Grenoble at the ILL.

During my first year I worked with Geetha B growing single crystals and doing measurements in the lab. In my second and third years I concentrated on neutron scattering experiments carried out at ILL, working as a member of the Large Scale Structures Group, learning to speak French, skiing and drinking large quantities of beer from small glasses.

Publications resulting from Ph.D. work

Optical conductivity studies of La_3/2Sr_1/2NiO₄: Lattice effect on charge ordering, J.H. Jung, D.W. Kim, T.W. Noh, H.C. Kim, H.C. Ri, S.J. Levett, M.R. Lees, D.M. Paul and G. Balakrishnan, Physical Review B 64, art. no. 165106 (2001).

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Intrinsic behavior of flux lines in pure niobium near the upper critical field, E.M. Forgan, S.J. Levett, P.G. Kealey, R. Cubitt, C.D. Dewhurst, D. Fort, Physical Review Letters 88, art. no. 167003 (2002).

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Study of the peak effect phenomenon in single crystals of 2H-NbSe₂, C.V. Tomy, D. Pal, S.S. Banerjee, S. Ramakrishnan, A.K. Grover, S. Bhattacharya, M.J. Higgins, G. Balakrishnan, D.M. Paul, Pramana Journal of Physics 58, 925-935 (2002).

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Vortex-Lattice transitions in YNi₂B₂C, Nature of the 45-degree reorientation, S.J. Levett, C.D. Dewhurst, D.M. Paul, Physical Review B 66, art no. 014515 (2002).

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Small-angle neutron scattering studies of vortex lattice morphology in YNi₂B₂C, C.D. Dewhurst, S.J. Levett and D.M. Paul, Physica C, 388 1890 (2003).

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Epitaph

After battling bouts of poor health over several years, sadly Simon passed away in 2019. Simon is fondly remembered by all the students and staff he worked with during his time here at 糖心TV and the ILL, and he will be greatly missed.