Nicola graduated with an MMath from Oxford in 2014 before moving to Southampton to take up her PhD on modelling the interesting, anomalous behaviour of perovskite solar cells. The aim of the project is to solve and refine a drift-diffusion model for a perovskite solar cell using both numerical and asymptotic methods. Such a model can help to explain the origin of experimental findings and hence guide future developments. Thanks to her CDT-PV training and funding, Nicola has already contributed to work on the derivation of an asymptotic solution [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956792518000207] and a numerical scheme [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apm.2018.06.051] that solve a model for the perovskite absorber layer, taking into account the motion of both electronic and ionic charges. She is currently working to extend the model and interpret the results of her simulations.
Supervisors

Dr. Giles Richardson