Kostya Trachenko
School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, email k.trachenko-at-qmul.ac.uk

I did my PhD at Cambridge University and MSc at L'viv University, Ukraine. I subsequently held
a Research Fellowship in Darwin College, Cambridge, and an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship.

My research interests mostly lie in theoretical and computational condensed matter physics: fundamental theory of liquid and supercritical states of matter, glass transition, glasses, high pressure and radiation damage effects including in nuclear waste forms and fusion reactors. I am also interested in links between field theory and condensed matter physics and links between fundamental physical constants and system properties. Here are representative publications in these areas. Related research is discussed here.

Please get in touch about a PhD project. My PhD students are awarded major international prizes, complete their projects in less than 3 years and receive job offers from research centers such as Cornell, Oak Ridge Lab, MIT and Kings College. I enjoy working with students and received a teaching award.
You will be doing interesting science: our work has been awarded the top 10 Physics Breakthroughs in 2020
and the EPSRC-CCP prize for "outstanding contributions to theory and modelling of condensed matter phases".

Highlights in news and media:
- A supercritical step for fundamental physics with green prospects

- Award of the top 10 Physics World Breakthroughs in 2020


- Upper bound on the speed of sound in the Economist, ("MaxMach" in the Economist print edition), Physics World, Science News, Sky News and Daily Mail
- Viscosity of quark-gluon plasma in Physics World and Futurism: "The early Universe was a vast liquid ocean"
- Minimal quantum viscosity in Physics Today, Physics World and Cosmos Magazine
- Vacuum energy gets flexible - IoP news
- Slow bitumen flow in BBC Feature Article, New Scientist and Physics World. The video abstract is here.
- New understanding of supercritical state in Physics Today
- Phonon theory of liquid thermodynamics in Physics World
- IoP highlight story about the first glimpse into radiation damage processes inside a fusion reactor

Animations of atomic motions in liquids, glasses and radiation damage from molecular dynamics simulations