Dr Robin Timmis

Dr Robin Timmis (2020, DPhil Atomic and Laser Physics) has won the Institute of Physics’ Culham Thesis Prize: Plasma Physics Group for her thesis entitled “Attoseconds and the exascale: on laser plasma surface interactions”.

The annual thesis prize awarded by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the Institute of Physics, recognises a well-explained thesis that shows significant new work and originality and demonstrates a good understanding of the subject.

When explaining her thesis, Dr Timmis said: “We sit on the verge of exascale revolutions in both laser facility and supercomputing powers. These rapid rises over the past few decades have driven forward the frontiers of high-energy-density physics, with applications ranging from fusion and lab-based astrophysics to biomedical imaging and photolithography. But even with such resources, we are approaching fundamental limits in feasible peak intensities for our brightest infrared sources, extreme X-ray sources, and ultrashort attosecond pulses. This calls for the development of new technologies.”

Credit: Helen Towrie

Dr Timmis’ research examines a potential alternative, the reflection of a laser off a relativistically oscillating plasma surface, producing attosecond X-ray pulses with extreme brightness. The thesis drew on theoretical work. simulations and experiments carried out at the ORION and Gemini laser facilities. The research investigated the way in which laser energy is absorbed by plasma and how it generates bright attosecond structures of radiation bursts and electron bunches.

Dr Timmis said: “It has been an honour to receive this prize, and I am incredibly grateful to the many people who supported me throughout my doctorate. With our recent results, it feels like a particularly exciting time to be working on high harmonic generation from relativistic plasmas, and I hope the recognition this award brings helps to highlight the transformative potential of this field.”

Published: 15 May 2026

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