Dr Simon Hodgson | University of Chester

Programme Lead for MRes Applied Science Lecturer in Physical and Engineering Sciences

Simon completed his MChem degree at Bangor University in 2009 before joining the Centre for Solar Energy Research (CSER) at the University of Wales, Glyndŵr. At Glyndŵr he completed his Ph.D. entitled ‘Application of Quantum Dot Materials for Photon Management in Thin-Film Photovoltaics’ in 2014. His thesis focused on the use of fluorescent quantum dot materials to improve the performance of thin-film CdTe photovoltaic cells through photon management techniques.

After finishing his doctorate he stayed at CSER as a Research Assistant as part of the Smart Operations for a Low Carbon Energy Region project where he used metal-organic chemical vapour deposition to deposit monolithically integrated thin-film photovoltaic micro-modules. He joined the University of Chester department of Mechanical Engineering in May 2015 as a Researcher in Laser Surface Engineering. He is currently a lecturer in Physical and Engineering Sciences and Programme Leader for MRes Applied Science.

Simon’s teaching focuses primarily on the Materials Science aspects of programs within the Faculty of Science. He currently leads the Level 6 Materials Science and Engineering course, and the third-year dissertation modules for Mechanical Engineering. He also contributes to the teaching in Manufacturing Processes (Level 6), Laser Materials Processing (Level 7), and supervises Level 6 and 7 undergraduate dissertation projects. He also supervises postgraduate students, particularly via the MRes in Applied Science and the MSc in Mechanical Engineering courses.

In the past he has also taught parts of the Composite Materials (Level 7), Experiments and modelling (Level 6), and Materials Science (Level 4) modules.

Simon’s current research interests mainly focuses on applying high technology solutions to sustainability problems. These areas include photon management (particularly for photovoltaic applications), deposition of low-cost, non-toxic optoelectronic layers, development of biologically functional surfaces, coatings, and surface characterisation. His past work has also involved 2nd and 3rd generation photovoltaic including developing devices, applications of fluorescent nanocrystals, and the synthesis and processing of semiconductor oxides.

Selected Publications

Simon D. Hodgson, Alice R. Gillett, “Rapid, chemical free generation of optically scattering structures in poly(ethylene terephthalate) using a CO2 laser for lightweight and flexible photovoltaic applications”, International Journal of Photoenergy, 2018, 1308381. (Available Online: Dec 2018 – DOI: 10.1155/2018/1308381)

A. R. Gillett, S. N. Baxter, S. D. Hodgson, G. C. Smith, P. J. Thomas, “Using sub-micron silver-nanoparticle based films to counter biofilm formation by Gram-negative bacteria”, Applied Surface Science, 442, 2018, 288-297. (Available Online: Feb 2018 – DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2018.02.116)

S. D. Hodgson, G. Kartopu, S. L. Rugen-Hankey, A. J. Clayton, V. Barrioz, S. J. C. Irvine, “Accessing the Quantum Palette: Quantum-dot spectral conversion towards the BIPV application of thin-film micro-modules”, Journal of Optics 17, 2015, 105905. (Available Online: September 2015 – DOI: 10.1088/2040-8978/17/10/105905)

S. D. Hodgson, S. Jones, P. J. Holliman, S. L. Rugen-Hankey, V. Barrioz, S. J. C. Irvine, “Porous ZnO as a novel encapsulation matrix for quantum dot based luminescent down-shifting films”, Materials Letters 130, 2014, 120-122. (Available Online: May 2014 – DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2014.05.087)

S. D. Hodgson, W. S. M. Brooks, A. J. Clayton, G. Kartopu, V. Barrioz, S. J. C. Irvine, “The impact of quantum dot concentration on the optical properties of QD/PMMA luminescent down-shifting films applied to CdTe photovoltaic devices”, Nano Energy 4, 2014, 1-6. (Available Online: December 2013 – DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2013.12.004)

A complete list can be found on Simon’s Google Scholar.