Dr Ali Awais
Silicon Detector Technician
School of Physical and Chemical Sciences
Queen Mary University of London
Research
Semiconductor Tracker ATLAS Experiment, Silicon Sensors, Thermal Management, Infra-red imaging
Interests
I am a PhD-qualified researcher working as a Silicon Detector Technician. My work contributes to the ATLAS Experiment at CERN, supporting the Phase-II upgrade of the Inner Tracker (ITk). My research focuses on the testing, qualification, and thermal characterisation of silicon strip detector components. I perform silicon strip sensor qualification using visual inspection, IV, CV, and strip measurements in a cleanroom environment, support the production of qualified ITk strip pre-modules for UK assembly sites, and carry out the thermal qualification of ITk barrel staves using a custom infrared imaging system.
I also perform thermal finite element (FEA) simulations in ANSYS to investigate the thermal performance and operating margins of ITk barrel staves with detector modules, contributing to the optimisation and long-term reliability of the upgraded ATLAS tracking detector.
Research Group
News
July 2026
23 July 2026
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London and University of Cambridge in collaboration with colleagues at HHMI Janelia and NIH, have created some of the most detailed three-dimensional maps ever generated of human airway cells, revealing how the specialised cells that protect our lungs are built and organised.
The study, ... [more]
17 July 2026
Researchers have unveiled a new location‑tracking system that could dramatically improve navigation in places where GPS signals routinely fail, such as tunnels, dense cities and underground transport routes.
In a new study presented at the IEEE International Conference on Communications in Glasgow, researchers from Queen Mary University of London ... [more]
16 July 2026
Researchers at the Centre for Molecular Cell Biology have discovered that tiny photosynthetic bacteria band together into protective "herds" when attacked by predators – a survival strategy that could also influence how carbon is stored in the world's waters.
Professor Conrad Mullineaux from the Centre for Molecular Cell Biology, said:
"It ... [more]
15 July 2026
CBS member Professor Conrad Mullineaux and his team have discovered that tiny photosynthetic bacteria band together into protective "herds" when attacked by predators – a survival strategy that could also influence how carbon is stored in the world's waters. Here's the full story.
15 July 2026
Congratulations to Dr Hasan Shaheed, Dr Mohamed Adhnan Thaha, and Dr Julius Bernth on being granted their European patent for CE-Move, an innovative locomotion system for capsule endoscopes.
Today's capsule endoscopes are little more than pills, swallowed like any other pill. Once swallowed, the only movement comes from gravity and ... [more]
15 July 2026
On Monday 13 July, we had the pleasure to host 36 school students from two schools, Barking Abby School (year 11) and Reach Academy Feltham (year 12) for a unique educational experience. The students were introduced to elements of statistical ecology and artificial intelligence via our novel interactive educational platform "From Pixels to Populations" ... [more]
15 July 2026
Congratulations to Cam Milliken, a PhD student supervised by Dr Eleni Matechou, who won a best poster award at the 2026 ISBA World Meeting. The conference was attended by over 800 people and included more than 300 posters.
Cam's poster, available here, presented work on spatio-temporal modelling for POMS (Pollinator Monitoring Scheme) data. ... [more]
14 July 2026
New research involving Queen Mary University of London reveals that amphibians can change what they eat to cope with rising temperatures, but that this natural survival strategy has limits.
Published in Scientific Reports, the international study found that tadpoles actively alter their diet as temperatures increase, consuming more plant material ... [more]
13 July 2026
Professor Rachael Bedford, from the Centre for Brain and Behaviour at Queen Mary University of London, helps shape new Department for Education (DfE) guidance on screen use for children in early years settings, ensuring the latest evidence informs practice across nurseries, preschools and childminding settings.
Published by the Department for ... [more]
9 July 2026
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have developed a new benchmark and evaluation system designed to help AI-generated music better align with human preferences, marking an important step towards more creative, controllable, and human-centred music-generation technologies.
The study, CMI-RewardBench: Evaluating Music Reward Models with Compositional Multimodal Instruction, introduces a ... [more]
8 July 2026
Dr Isabel M Palacios from CMCB contributed with her charity DrosAfrica to the FLY-NEUROCAN Workshop, held from 15–26 June 2026 at the Drosophila Research and Training Centre (DRTC), Ibadan, Nigeria.
Isa, together with other DrosAfrica members and other Drosophilist in the world, taught participants from various countries in Africa how to use ... [more]
7 July 2026
Dr. Marcus Pearce, cognitive scientist at Queen Mary University of London is interviewed in this podcast on why music affects us so deeply—and why those responses differ across cultures. Drawing on insights from his book Learning to Listen, Listening to Learn, Pearce explains how the brain predicts musical patterns, ... [more]
6 July 2026
Dr. Paul Anthony Haigh, Associate Professor at Queen Mary University of London, is exploring how to seamlessly connect fibre, underwater, free-space and satellite optical communication systems into a single end-to-end network. The vision is to create a continuous optical path that carries data from the seabed all the way to ... [more]
3 July 2026
Largest study to date to look at how traits of different neurodevelopmental conditions strongly overlap with each other and relate to wider emotional and behavioural challenges and real-world outcomes from childhood through adolescence.
A paper published in the leading journal Molecular Psychiatry led by researchers from Queen Mary University of ... [more]
3 July 2026
Engineers at Queen Mary University of London built a new colour-changing tactile sensor, which allows robots to "see" and touch in real-time.
The novel idea was invented by Giacomo Sasso, a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Engineering and Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London, and it works ... [more]
2 July 2026
A new study published in Trends in Biotechnology, led by José I. Jiménez from Imperial College London and involving collaborators from the University of Surrey, Northwest University, Leipzig University, Kyungpook National University, Bacmine, and RWTH Aachen University, together with Zheren Zhang from the Centre for Molecular Cell Biology, shows ... [more]
1 July 2026
Queen Mary University of London will welcome the first cohort of 240 students through a new transnational education (TNE) partnership with the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing, following approval by China's Ministry of Education.
The partnership will deliver two new undergraduate joint programmes, BSc Actuarial Science with ... [more]
June 2026
29 June 2026
Professor Natasha Blitvic's successful Simons Foundation Pivot Fellowship highlights the power of interdisciplinary research and the value of one of the world's most distinctive research awards.
A Queen Mary University of London mathematician has been recognised by the Simons Foundation for the success of her ground-breaking transition into marine microbiology, ... [more]
26 June 2026
Congratulations to Emanuele Palladino from Prof Joe Briscoe's group who passed his PhD viva!
Emanuele's thesis was titled "Development of Ferroelectric Vertically Aligned Nanocomposites for Solar Energy Harvesting" and aimed to develop novel ferroelectric-semiconductor nanocomposite photovoltaic devices and demonstrate new mechanisms for solar energy conversion.
Emanuele's PhD was part of ... [more]
26 June 2026
As rising temperatures around the world trigger climate-related anxiety, new research shows that those most in need of mental health support may be cut off from it.
Young people from the lower-income countries most vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis, including the toll it takes on their mental ... [more]
