Photonics Theory Group (Broderick subgroup)
We are part of the larger Photonics Theory Group at UCC's Tyndall National Institute and School of Physics, which was originally founded by Prof. Eoin O'Reilly. Dr. Broderick is one of three Principal Investigators in the Photonics Theory Group, alongside Dr. Stefan Schulz (Head of Group) and Dr. Felipe Murphy-Armando.
We are affiliated with UCC's Futures Quantum & Photonics strategic research thrust, and are active in computational and theoretical condensed matter physics. Our focus is on developing quantitative understanding and predictive simulations of emerging semiconductor materials and nanostructures, to guide applications in next-generation classical and quantum photonic, electronic, and photovoltaic devices.
Group members
Órla McElhatton
Órla joined the group in 2024, after graduating with a B.A. (Mod.) in Theoretical Physics from Trinity College Dublin. She is working on first-principles calculations and empirical atomistic models of the properties of metastable hexagonal semiconductors and axial nanowire heterostructures.
Órla's Ph.D. is supported by The Royal Society and Research Ireland.
Dáire Hannon
Dáire joined the group in 2026, having previously worked in the group as a Tyndall Summer Fellowship project student in 2024, and after graduating with a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Physics from University College Cork. He is working on first-principles analysis of carrier recombination and dynamic disorder effects in emerging semiconductor materials.
Dáire's Ph.D. is supported by Research Ireland.
Darragh Byrd
Darragh joined the group in 2026, having previously worked in the group as a Tyndall Summer Fellowship project student in 2025, and after graduating with a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Physics from University College Cork. He is working on model and software development to enable predictive simulations of the properties of novel core-shell nanowire heterostructures for quantum and photonics applications.
Darragh's Ph.D. is supported by UCC's School of Physics.
Xiangrui Liu
Xiangrui joined the group in 2026, after graduating with a B.Sc. in Physics from Henan University, and a M.Sc. in Physics from Beijing University of Technology. He is working on the theory and simulation of emerging quantum dot systems for classical and quantum photonics applications.
Xiangrui's Ph.D. is supported by a China Scholarship Council-University College Cork Ph.D. Scholarship.
Sam Roche
Sam is an incoming 4th year B.Sc. (Hons.) Physics student at University College Cork, and joined the group in 2026 via the Tyndall Summer Fellowship Programme. He is working on controlling quantum tunnelling in narrow-gap semiconductors via complex band structure engineering.
Sam's Tyndall Summer Fellowship is supported by the Irish Photonic Integration Centre and Rinn Semiconductors.
Interested in joining us?
We are always happy to discuss potential projects and funding opportunities with motivated students and researchers.
Undergraduate projects
We generally recruit 1-2 summer research interns per year, via the Tyndall Summer Fellowship Programme and/or UCC's School of Physics. We also typically offer ~2 final-year B.Sc. projects per year via UCC modules PY4115 and CY4003. Prospective final-year project students at UCC are welcome to reach out to Dr. Broderick to discuss potential projects from mid-July, in advance of beginning 4th year in September.
Ph.D. opportunities
Funded Ph.D. studentships will be advertised publicly whenever they become available. We are interested in supporting strong applicants for competitive Ph.D. scholarships: we have had success in the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship and China Scholarship Council-University College Cork Ph.D. Programme, and can provide support for proposal development on topics of mutual interest. Prospective funding applicants should reach out several months in advance of the call deadline, to allow sufficient time for proposal development and (where applicable) participation in institutional selection processes.
Postdoctoral positions
Funded postdoctoral positions will be advertised publicly whenever they become available. We are interested in supporting strong applicants for competitive postdoctoral fellowships: we have had previous success in the National University of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Sciences, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the Research Ireland Pathway Programme, and can provide support for proposal development on topics of mutual interest. Prospective funding applicants should reach out several months in advance of the call deadline, to allow sufficient time for proposal development and (where applicable) participation in institutional selection processes.
Alumni
- Tommy Murphy (Ph.D. student)Graduated 2026Co-supervised with Profs. Eoin O'Reilly and Frank Peters Thesis: Theory and simulation of quantum nanostructures for integrated photonics (Link)
- Cónal Murphy (Ph.D. student)Graduated 2025Co-supervised with Prof. Eoin O'Reilly Thesis: Predictive simulation and design of III-V heterostructures for light emission and detection (Link)
- Sarita Das (Ph.D. student)Graduated 2024Co-supervised with Prof. Eoin O'Reilly Thesis: Theory of tunneling and transport in emerging narrow-gap semiconductor alloys (Link)
- Michael Dunne (Ph.D. student)Graduated 2023Co-supervised with Prof. Eoin O'Reilly Thesis: Atomistic simulation and analysis of novel group-IV semiconductor alloys and devices (Link)
- Savannah Timony (B.Sc. project student)Graduated 2026
- Eibhlín Kiely (B.Sc. project student)Graduated 2024