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  • Find a PhD Supervisor

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Find a PhD Supervisor

Professor Alan Fitzsimmons

School of Mathematics and Physics
Professor Alan Fitzsimmons

Professor Alan Fitzsimmons

School of Mathematics and Physics

Professor Fitzsimmons is an expert in the field of asteroid and cometary science. He usesworld-leading observatories to measure the physical properties of Solar System bodies and their composition. 

Highlights have ranged from studying the first asteroid predicted
 to impact the Earth, to investigating the nature of the first object discovered visiting us from another star. 

He is 
an author on over 130 peer-reviewed publications, and his research has been funded by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, the Royal Society, the European Space Agency, the Leverhulme Trust, and the European Union (FP7 & H2020).

Contact info

  • View Academic Profile
  • A.Fitzsimmons@qub.ac.uk
  • +44 (0)28 9097 3573

Research Interests

Open to PhD applications in the field of

  • Cometary and asteroid observational research
  • Spectroscopy of cometary bodies
  • Spectroscopy and photometry of asteroidal objects

Make a PhD enquiry


Public outreach & key achievements

  • https://phys.org/news/2017-10-astronomers-capture-solar.html 
  • http://asteroidday.org/video/live-luxembourg-telescopes 
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08f19c3 
  • https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/rosetta-jitters-turn-to-joy-for-queens-prof-
    as-philae-lander-touches-down-on-comet-30740813.html
     
  • https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/news/2013/03/5-minutes-with-astronomer-alan-fitzsimmons

Research students

PhD Title Observational studies of cometary solar system bodies
Name Meabh Hyland
Country Northern Ireland
Year of Study  2014 - 2018

 


Alumni: Where are they now

PhD Title Physical Properties of cometary nuclei and studies of distant activity
Name Dr Stephen Lowry
Year of Study 1998-2001
Country  Northern Ireland
Current Position Senior Lecturer, University of Kent, UK
   
PhD Title Forms and Rotation States of the Nuclei of Ecliptic Comets
Name  Dr Colin Snodgrass 
Year of Study 2003-2006
Country United Kingdom
Current Position STFC Ernest Rutherford Senior Research Fellow, Open University, UK
   
PhD Title Observational Constraints on the Steady-State Catastrophic Disruption Rate of Main Belt Asteroids measured using the Pan-STARRS Moving Object Processing System
Name  Dr Larry Denneau Jr
Year of Study 2010 - 2015
Country USA
Current Position Senior Software Engineer, Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, USA

 

 


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  • Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

  • School of Mathematics and Physics


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