Professional Experience
Mar 2024 – ongoing :: Assistant Professor (Lecturer) and Interdisciplinary Fellow
Department of Physics – University of Aberdeen
Head of the Plasma Science Research Group
Mar 2022 – March 2024 :: Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Dept. – University of Michigan
Supervisor: Prof. Mark J. Kushner
Projects:
ASTRON: “Modelling of Transformer-Coupled and RF Toroidal Wave-Heated Plasma Sources
for Industrial and Aerospace Applications”
NanoAg: “Enhancing Silver Nanoparticle Synthesis Employing Plasma-Assisted Chemical Processing Techniques”
Sep 2021 – Feb 2022 :: EUROfusion Postdoctoral Fellow
Dept. of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics – University of Seville
Supervisor: Prof. Eleonora Viezzer
Projects:
MEGA-KINPR: “Non-Linear Hybrid Kinetic-MHD Plasma Response to Externally
Applied 3D Non-Axisymmetric Fields”
Feb 2020 – Aug 2021 :: Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dept. of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics – University of Seville
Supervisor: Prof. Eleonora Viezzer
Projects:
3D-FIREFLUC (ERC Starting Grant #805162):
“Taming the particle transport in magnetized plasmas via perturbative fields.”
SMART (FEDER, IE17-5670 & US-15570):
“Modelling and design of a novel spherical tokamak.”
2017-present. Referee tasks:
Referee for: Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., Plasma Sci. and Technol., Vacuum, Physics of Plasmas,
Fusion Engineering and Design, Frontiers in Physics, and J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.
Education
2015-2019. Ph.D. Physics – K. M. Stott Prize Recipient
York Plasma Institute, University of York
Thesis: “Electron, Ion, and Neutral Heating in Hollow Cathode Plasma Thrusters”
Advisors: Dr. James Dedrick, Prof. Deborah O’Connell
2014-2015. MSc. Fusion Energy – Distinction
York Plasma Institute, University of York
Thesis: “Self-Collimation of Relativistic Electron Beams”
Advisor: Dr. Christopher Ridgers
2013-2014. PGDip. Physics – Merit
York Plasma Institute, University of York
Thesis: “Suppression of Edge Localized Modes in Tokamak Fusion Plasmas”
Advisor: Dr. Benjamin Dudson
2008-2012. BSc. Physics with Astrophysics
University of Glasgow
Thesis: “Narrowband Optical Imaging of the Crab Nebula”
Advisor: Prof. Martin Hendry
Fellowships & Grants
2025 EPSRC Fusion Energy CDT Community PhD Studentship. “Modelling Deuterium/Tungsten Plasma-Surface Interactions & Detachment in the Divertor Region”, (£135,434)
2025 University of Aberdeen Development Trust (SCIO) Renewal Funding Call, “That’s Not Real Research”, (£3,000)
2025 Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership, with Industrial Partner Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology, “Surface modelling & Impurity transport in plasma-assisted SiC polishing reactors”, (£377,724)
2024 University of Aberdeen Development Trust (SCIO) Internal Funding Call, “That’s Not Real Research”, (£3,000)
2024 University of Aberdeen Development Trust (SCIO) PhD Studentship, “Electromagnetic control schemes for the enhancement of plasma-driven water electrolysis”, (£114,488)
2024 University of Aberdeen Development Trust (SCIO) PhD Studentship, “Plasma and catalytic enhanced CO2 upgrading at atmospheric pressure”, (£114,488)
2024 (Seminal) Oxford Instruments (OI) Undergraduate Summer Internship Grant, annual fund to provide two summer internships between the University of Aberdeen and OI (£6,000)
2023 US Air Force, European Office of Research & Development Research Grant, “Propellant Ambiguity for Radio-Frequency Plasma Micro-Propulsion”, (£132,861)
2021*. EUROfusion Researcher Grant
*(Early completion to facilitate fellowship at University of Michigan)
Project: MEGA-KINPR: “Non-Linear Hybrid Kinetic-MHD Plasma Response to Externally Applied 3D Non-Axisymmetric Fields”
2021*. Juan de la Cierva Formacion Fellowship
*(Turned down in lieu of EUROFusion Researcher Grant)
Project: “Advanced Low-Power Radio-Frequency Plasma Propulsion”
2021. PRACE Distributed European Computing Initiative
Project: MEGAWAVES: “Nonlinear hybrid kinetic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of tokamak plasmas”
As a contributor; we were awarded 3.0 million computing hours on the SEGA tier-1 supercomputing cluster.
2021. Plan Nacional – Research & Development Grants
Project: FLOW-FIMP: “Unraveling the role of sheared flows for particle transport in magnetically confined fusion plasmas”
2020. EUROfusion High Performance Computing Grant
Project: MEGAPR: “Non-Linear Hybrid Simulations of Plasma Response to Externally Applied 3D Fields”
Awarded 1.3 million computing hours on the MARCONI tier-0 supercomputing cluster.
2018. Norma Ann Christie Scholarship Research Fund
Awarded £3000 to enable an international collaboration between the York Plasma Institute and the Space Plasma, Power and Propulsion laboratories at ANU to investigate and mitigate an anomalous helicon beam-plasma instability within a helicon magnetic propulsion source.
Awards & Prizes
2022. European Young Researchers Award (EYRA) Popular Prize – (2022)
Awarded to prominent representatives of the most talented young European researchers who have already made important contributions to their disciplines, but who have also succeeded in developing the societal context of their achievements and in promoting their field of research by notable outreach activities.
2020. K. M. Stott Prize in Physics
Awarded for the most exceptional thesis and defense submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy in Physics, University of York.
2019. GEC Student Award for Excellence
Awarded at the 72nd Gaseous Electronics Conference for outstanding work in the field of plasma, atomic, molecular and optical physics.
Publications
As first author (in chronological order):
S. J. Doyle, et. al., “Controlling plasma produced fluxes to liquid surfaces by acoustic structuring: applications to plasma driven solution electrochemistry”, PSST, 34(3), (2025)
S. J. Doyle et. al. “Magnetic enhancement of the electrical asymmetry effect in capacitively coupled plasmas”, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 57 315204, (2024).
S. J. Doyle et. al. “Transformer coupled toroidal wave-heated remote plasma sources operating in Ar/NF3 mixtures” J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 57 435202, (2024).
S. J. Doyle, J. P. Dedrick, and M. J. Kushner “Structural and Electromagnetic Methods for Enhancing Homogeneity in Intermediate Pressure Capacitively Coupled Plasma Processing Sources”, In Preparation, Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., (2022)
S. J. Doyle, D. Tsifakis, C. Charles, R. W. Boswell, and J. P. Dedrick, “Comparison of the Ionisation and Neutral Gas Heating Mechanisms in Capacitively and Inductively Coupled Plasma Microthrusters”, In Preparation, Frontiers in Physics, (2022)
S. J. Doyle, M. Agredano-Torres, A. Mancini, D. Lopez-Aires, J. M. Ayllon-Guerola, C. Soria-Hoyo, M. Garcia-Munoz, E. Viezzer, P. F. Buxton, M. P. Gryaznevich, Y. S. Hwang, K. J. Chung, “Single and Double Divertor Null Configurations in the SMART Tokamak”, Plasma Research Express, 3, 044001, (2021)
S. J. Doyle, M. Agredano-Torres, A. Mancini, D. Lopez-Aires, J. M. Ayllon-Guerola, C. Soria-Hoyo, M. Garcia-Munoz, E. Viezzer, P. F. Buxton, M. P. Gryaznevich, Y. S. Hwang, K. J. Chung, “Equilibrium Design for the SMART Tokamak”, Fusion Engineering and Design, vol 171, 112706, (2021)
S. J. Doyle, A. R. Gibson, R. W. Boswell, C. Charles and J. P. Dedrick, “Decoupling ion energy and flux in intermediate pressure plasmas utilizing tailored voltage waveforms”, Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. Special Edition on Tailored Voltage Waveforms, vol. 29, p. 124002, (2020), doi:10.1088/1361-6595/abc82f
S. J. Doyle, A. Bennet, D. Tsifakis, R. W. Boswell, C. Charles and J. P. Dedrick, “Characterisation and control of an ion-acoustic plasma instability downstream of a diverging magnetic nozzle” – Frontiers In Physics Editor’s Pick 2021, Frontiers in Physics, 8, 24, (2020), doi:10.3389/2020.00024
S. J. Doyle, A. R Gibson, R. W. Boswell, C. Charles and J. P. Dedrick, “Inducing localised beam-like ion energy distribution functions in intermediatepressure plasmas”, Physics of Plasmas 26, 073519 (2019), doi:10.1063/1.5111401
S. J. Doyle, A. R Gibson, R. W. Boswell, C. Charles, and J. P. Dedrick, “Control of electron, ion and neutral heating in a radio-frequency electrothermal microthruster via dual-frequency voltage waveforms”, Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., vol. 28, p. 035019, (2019), doi:10.1088/1361-6595/ab0984
S. J. Doyle, A. R Gibson, J. FLatt, T. S. Ho, R. W. Boswell, C. Charles, P. Tian, M. J. Kushner and J. P. Dedrick, “Spatio-temporal plasma heating mechanisms in a radio-frequency electrothermal microthruster”, Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., vol. 27, p. 085011, (2018), doi:10.1088/1361-6595/aad79a
S. J. Doyle, T. Lafleur, A. R Gibson, P. Tian, M. J. Kushner and J. P. Dedrick, “Enhanced control of the ionization rate in ratio-frequency plasmas with structured electrodes via tailored voltage waveforms”, Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., vol. 26, p. 125005, (2017), doi:10.1088/1361-6595/aa96e5
As co-author (in chronological order):
G. J. Smith, P. Diomede, A. R. Gibson, S. J. Doyle, et. al., “Low-pressure inductively coupled plasmas in hydrogen: impact of gas heating on the spatial distribution of atomic hydrogen and vibrationally excited states”, Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 33 025002 (2024).
S. Leigh, S. J. Doyle, et. al., “Efficient low-frequency ionization and plasma heating in a radio frequency electrothermal microthruster”, Physics of Plasmas, 31(2), (2023)
A. Mancini, J. M. Ayllon-Guerola, S. J. Doyle, M. Agredano-Torres, D. Lopez-Aires, J. Toledo-Garrido, C. Soria-Hoyo, E. Viezzer, M. Garcia-Munoz, P. F. Buxton, K.-J. Chung, J. Garcia-Dominguez, M. P. Gryaznevich, J. Hidalgo-Salaverri, Y.-S. Hwang and J. Segado-Fernandez, “Mechanical and electromagnetic design of the vacuum vessel of the SMART tokamak”, Fusion Engineering and Design, 171, 112542, (2021).
M. Agredano-Torres, J. Garcia-Sanchez, A. Mancini, D. Lopez-Aires, S. J. Doyle, M. Garcia-Munoz, J. Ayllon-Guerola, J. Segado-Fernandez, J. Toledo-Garrido, M. Barragan-Villarejo, P. F. Buxton, K.-J. Chung, J. Garcia-Dominguez, M. Gryaznevich, J. Hidalgo-Salaverri, Y.-S. Hwang, J. Maza-Ortega, C. Soria-Hoyo. “Coils and Power Supply Design for the Small Aspect Ratio Tokamak (SMART)”, Fusion Engineering and Design, 171, 112543, (2021).
A. R. Gibson, Z. Donko, L. Alelyani, L. Bischoff, G. Hubner, J. Bredin, S. J. Doyle, I. Korolov, K. Niemi, T. Mussenbrock, P. Hartmann, J. P. Dedrick, J. Schulze , T. Gans, D. O’Connell, “Disrupting the spatio-temporal symmetry of the electron dynamics in atmospheric pressure plasmas by voltage waveform tailoring”, Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., vol. 28, p.01LT01, (2019)
Participation in Research Campaigns
1) EUROfusion: Work Package Tokamak Exploitation (WPTE) Experimental Campaign: – (2021):
Group RT08-AUG-DA-1 & 3 – Performed MHD spectrum, mode structure and plasma response simulations employing experimental data from ASDEX-Upgrade discharges with resonant magnetic perturbations.
Group RT11-AUG-DA-3 & 44 – Performed analysis of Fast Ion Loss Detector (FILD) measurements from ASDEX-Upgrade discharges with resonant magnetic perturbations.
Participation in R&D Projects
1) Industrial Consulting: Discrete control of reactive species in nanoscale semiconductor manufacturing via tailored voltage waveforms – (2019-2020):
As the principle researcher, I performed detailed numerical modelling of reactive gases in industrially relent plasma etching sources in collaboration with Oxford Instruments (OI). Research outputs include the application of tailored voltage waveforms to alter ion flux and energy distributions in industrially relevant geometries. Research funded by an Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) grant made available by the University of York and awarded to project coordinator James P. Dedrick. Includes monthly visits to the OI labs and regular presentations to the OI R&D team between November 2019 – January 2020.
2) Industrial Consulting: Optimising focused ion beam brightness for applications employing secondary ion mass spectrometry – (2019):
As the principle researcher, I performed numerical modelling of high density, negative ion beam sources in collaboration with Oregon Physics (OP). Research outputs include the creation and validation of an intermediate pressure molecular oxygen reaction set for use in modelling inductively coupled negative ion beam sources. Research funded by an Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) grant made available by the University of York and awarded to project coordinator James P. Dedrick. Includes a one month visit, where I planned and executed a spectroscopic experimental campaign within the OP labs in Portland, Oregon in 2019.
3) Academic Collaboration: Inductive Enhancement of Ion Source Densities For Thin-Film Optical Coating Deposition – (2019):
As the principle researcher, I performed numerical modelling of a novel inductively coupled ion beam source for the manufacture of high performance optical filters. Research outputs include creation of simulation geometry and validation against contemporary thermionic sources, including an optimisation of the resulting ion beam energy distribution. Research funded by an Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) grant made available by the University of York and awarded to project coordinator Erik Wagennars.
4) Industrial Consulting: Advancing plasma-assisted large-area nanoscale semiconductor manufacturing via structured electrodes – (2019):
As the principle researcher, I performed proof of concept numerical modelling of industrially relent plasma etching sources in collaboration with Oxford Instruments (OI). Research outputs include modification of existing infrastructure to enable enhanced plasma homogeneity in semiconductor etching devices. Research funded by an Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) grant made available by the University of York and awarded to project coordinator James P. Dedrick. Includes monthly visits to the OI labs and regular presentations to the OI R&D team between January – June 2019.
Event Organisation (Since 2022)
April 2026. Chair of the Local Organising Committee for the 52nd IoP Plasma Physics Conference (Univ. of Aberdeen). Produced and submitted successful pitch to host at Aberdeen.
Oct 2025. Organising Committee Member for the 2nd Interdisciplinary Symposium at the University of Aberdeen
2025-ongoing. Convenor of the “That’s Not Real Research” monthly interdisciplinary research seminar series at the University of Aberdeen, co-organised with Rhiannon Thompson.
Sept 2024. 1st Interdisciplinary Plasma Modelling Workshop, organised a new one-day, in person workshop at the University of Aberdeen, co-organised with Anna Nelson (Quantemol Ltd.)
Oct 2024. Organising Committee Member for the 1st Interdisciplinary Symposium at the University of Aberdeen
Nov 2023. Organising Committee Member and Judge for the 14th MIPSE Graduate Symposium
Oct 2023. Organising Committee Member for the 76th Gaseous Electronics Conference
Nov 2022. Organising Committee Member and Judge for the 13th MIPSE Graduate Symposium
Oct 2022. Organising Committee Member for the 75th Gaseous Electronics Conference
Professional Associations
2025-ongoing. Fellow (FBIS) of the British Interplanetary Society
2022-ongoing. Affiliate of the Michigan Space Institute
2022-2024. Executive Board of the Michigan Postdoctoral Association of the College of Engineering
2016-ongoing. Member (MAPS) of the American Physics Society
2018-ongoing. Member (MInstP) of the Institute of Physics
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