Professor Colm DURKAN

Deputy Head of Department of Engineering

Professor of Nanoengineering Science

University of Cambridge

Prof. Colm Durkan is the founder and head of the Nanoengineering Science group at the Nanoscience Centre of the University of Cambridge. Originally from Dublin, he earned his primary degree in Physics from Trinity College Dublin, where he was a Trinity College Foundation scholar and received the Fitzgerald Medal in 1992.

He obtained his PhD in Physics from Trinity College, focusing on Scanning Near-field Optical Microscopy (SNOM), and built the first SNOM in the country. Following his postdoctoral work at Konstanz University in Germany, where he received an Alexander von Humboldt Visiting Fellowship for research in atom optics, he joined the University of Cambridge as a postdoc in August 1997.

He has been a University Lecturer with full tenure since July 2000, a Reader in Nanoscale Engineering since October 2010, and became a full professor in October 2020. Currently, he also serves as the Deputy Head (Teaching) of the Engineering Department and is a member of the editorial board for the journal “Scientific Reports”.

Prof. Durkan has authored over 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is in the final stages of completing a textbook on analogue electronics for Cambridge University Press. He recently published a book for laypersons titled Size Really Does Matter: The Nanotechnology Revolution and has authored a second edition of the textbook Current at the Nanoscale on nanoscale quantum electronics. To support schoolchildren, he wrote a short ebook on electrical circuits called Electricity Without the Tears.

His research aims to understand the relationship between form (size and shape) and function in nanomaterials, with an emphasis on advanced microscopy and surface analysis. His work tackles practical everyday challenges while also delving into the foundational science. Durkan is particularly interested in fabricating novel devices and developing innovative device architectures.