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Dr Anita Dawes

Profile summary

  • Central Academic Staff
  • Lecturer in Physics
  • Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
  • School of Physical Sciences
  • anita.dawes

Professional biography

2020 – Present    I am a Lecturer in Physics at the School of Physical Sciences at the Open University.

​2016 – 2019    Leverhulme Research Fellow - reserach in laboratory molecular astrophysics / astrochemistry.

2013 – 2016    In 2013 I returned to research at the Shchool of Physical Sciences at the OU following a 7-year career break. My return was made possible with a Daphne Jackson Fellowship, co-sponsored by the Open University and Science and Technology Facilities Council. The tailor-made fellowship enabled me to re-train and refresh my skills and regain confidence as a researcher, allowing me to work part-time whilst looking after my young family. Towards the end of the three years, the Daphne Jackson re-training programme paid off and I was successful in securing a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (Oct 2016 - Jun 2019), continuing my  pre-career-break research in laboratory molecular astrophysics.

(2006 – 2013   Career break, becoming a parent to three children...)

2003 – 2006    Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Open University; applying Experimental Molecular Physics to Astrochemistry and helping establish the Astrochemistry Laboratory that has now become the Molecular Astrophysics Lab (2017).

2000 – 2003    PhD in Laboratory Molecular Physics, University College London

1996 – 2000    Undergraduate MSci degree in Physics, University College London

Research interests

My research interests are in Experimetnal Molecular Physics applied to Astrophysical environments. I simulate cold space environments such as dense molecular clouds from which stars form (including protoplanetary discs around baby stars or icy surfaces of Outer Solar System bodies) under conrtolled laboraory conditions to study the chemical and physical properties of cosmic ice analogues. My specific interests are:

  • creating astrophysical ice analogues under controlled laboratory conditions (in situ vapour deposition, acoustic levitation)
  • probing astrophysical ice analogues in situ with a combination of complementary infrared and vacuum ultraviolet spectrocopic techniques, using a unique portable experimental system
  • systematically investigating how the physical and chemical properties of ices grown in the laboratory are affected by laboratory parameters such as molecular composition, thickness, temperature, concentration and mixing/layering and how these relate to real astrophysical environments
  • specialising in high resolution vaccuum ultraviolet spectroscopy (115 - 340 nm), using synchrotron radiation at the ASTRID2 Synchrotron Facility, Denmark, to determine photoabsorption cross sections of condensed ices and ice mixtures in order to better understand the electronic structure of condensed molecules and quantify photochemical processes
  • investigating the role of large condensed phase molecules such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as constituents of astrochemical ices in influencing chemical and desorption processes
  • high resolution laboratory infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for the interpretation of astronomical spectra in star-forming regions
  • investigating the effect of realistric micro-/nano-scale dust grain size, shape and composition on the physical and chemical properties of ices by exploiting the technique of acoustic levitation
  • laboratory investigatiion of optical scattering properties of levitated sub-micron dust, ice and aerosol particles in an ultrasonic trap.

Acoustically levitated snowflakes

Snowflakes 'grown' and levitated in the ultrasonic trap for containerless investigation of their optical properties.

Acoustically levitated icy soot aggregates

Icy soot aggregates grown in the ultrasonic trap as analogues of icy dust particles in star-forming regions of space

Teaching interests

I am currently the Module Team Chair for the Level 1 Module, SM123 Physics and Space.

I was part of the module team for the production of Level 3 Module, SM381 Electromagentism, leading the development of the remote Hall effect OpenScience lab experiement and an interactive screen experiment to investigate Coulomb's law (2019-2022).

As part of the production module team for Level 2 Module, SXPS288 Remote Experiments in Physics and Space, I have been involved in developing a remote Gas Cell OpenScience lab experiment to probe gas samples representing planetary atmospheres, using infrared spectroscopy (2018-2020).

I was a Physics Specialist on the module team for the Level 1 Module S111 Questions in Science (2016-2018).

I was a Topic Specialist on the Level 2 Module SXPA288 Practical Science: Physics and Astronomy (2016-2018).

Externally funded projects

STFC Open 2018 DTP
RoleStart dateEnd dateFunding source
Co-investigator01 Oct 201830 Sep 2022STFC Science & Technology Facilities Council

STFC Open 2018 DTP

The physico-chemical properties and aggregation of interstellar dust and ice
RoleStart dateEnd dateFunding source
Lead01 Oct 201630 Jun 2019LEVERHULME The Leverhulme Trust

Microscopic icy dust particles in the interstellar medium play a crucial role in molecular synthesis and star and planet formation. Laboratory data is essential for interpretation of astronomical spectra and for building accurate astrochemical models. However most laboratory ices are grown on large (cm-sized) flat substrates, unrepresentative of microscopic 3D fractal-like interstellar grains. Evidence suggests that particle size, structure and composition may profoundly influence the physico-chemical properties of ice. I will exploit novel laboratory techniques, by developing a unique acoustic trap to form and trap microscopic icy dust particles as realistic interstellar icy grain analogues and investigate their physico-chemical properties and aggregation using infrared and ultraviolet spectroscopy and compare to observations. This work has the potential to resolve key Astrochemistry questions that have persisted for decades, whilst bringing together core strands of physics, chemistry and astronomy.

Publications

A systematic IR and VUV spectroscopic investigation of ion, electron, and thermally processed ethanolamine ice (2024)
Zhang, Jin; Muiña, Alejandra Traspas; Mifsud, Duncan V; Kaňuchová, Zuzana; Cielinska, Klaudia; Herczku, Péter; Rahul, K K; Kovács, Sándor T S; Rácz, Richárd; Santos, Julia C; Hopkinson, Alfred T; Craciunescu, Luca; Jones, Nykola C; Hoffmann, Søren V; Biri, Sándor; Vajda, István; Rajta, István; Dawes, Anita; Sivaraman, Bhalamurugan; Juhász, Zoltán; Sulik, Béla; Linnartz, Harold; Hornekær, Liv; Fantuzzi, Felipe; Mason, Nigel J and Ioppolo, Sergio
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 533(1) (pp. 826-840)

A temperature study of methanol interstellar ice analogues (2023-12)
Podgórny, Marta and Dawes, Anita
Progress. Journal of Young Researchers(12) (pp. 88-102)

The rise of an exciton in solid ammonia (2022-01-18)
Cassidy, Andrew; James, Rachel L.; Dawes, Anita and Field, David
Chemical Communications, 58(6) (pp. 815-818)

Systematic investigation of CO2 : NH3 ice mixtures using mid-IR and VUV spectroscopy – part 2: electron irradiation and thermal processing (2021-10)
James, Rachel L.; Ioppolo, Sergio; Hoffmann, Søren V.; Jones, Nykola C.; Mason, Nigel J. and Dawes, Anita
RSC Advances, 11(52) (pp. 33055-33069)

Vacuum ultraviolet photoabsorption spectroscopy of space-related ices: formation and destruction of solid carbonic acid upon 1 keV electron irradiation (2021-02)
Ioppolo, S.; Kaňuchová, Z.; James, R. L.; Dawes, A.; Ryabov, A.; Dezalay, J.; Jones, N. C.; Hoffmann, S. V.; Mason, N. J. and Strazzulla, G.
Astronomy & Astrophysics, 646, Article A172

Crystallites and Electric Fields in Solid Ammonia (2020-10)
Cassidy, Andrew; James, Rachel; Dawes, Anita and Field, David
ChemistryOpen, 9(10) (pp. 983-990)

Vacuum ultraviolet photoabsorption spectroscopy of space-related ices: 1 keV electron irradiation of nitrogen- and oxygen-rich ices (2020-09)
Ioppolo, S.; Kaňuchová, Z.; James, R. L.; Dawes, A.; Jones, N. C.; Hoffmann, S. V.; Mason, N. J. and Strazzulla, G.
Astronomy & Astrophysics, 641, Article A154

Systematic Study on the Absorption Features of Interstellar Ices in the Presence of Impurities (2020-06-18)
Gorai, Prasanta; Sil, Milan; Das, Ankan; Sivaraman, Bhalamurugan; Chakrabarti, Sandip K.; Ioppolo, Sergio; Puzzarini, Cristina; Kanuchova, Zuzana; Dawes, Anita; Mendolicchio, Marco; Mancini, Giordano; Barone, Vicenzo; Nakatani, Naoki; Shimonishi, Takashi and Mason, Nigel
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, 4(6) (pp. 920-946)

Systematic investigation of CO2 : NH3 ice mixtures using mid-IR and VUV spectroscopy – part 1: thermal processing (2020)
James, Rachel L.; Ioppolo, Sergio; Hoffmann, Søren V.; Jones, Nykola C.; Mason, Nigel J. and Dawes, Anita
RSC Advances, 10(61) (pp. 37515-37528)

The optical absorption spectra of spontaneously electrical solids: the case of nitrous oxide (2019)
Cassidy, Andrew; James, Rachel; Dawes, Anita; Lasne, Jérôme and Field, David
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 21(3) (pp. 1190-1197)

VUV spectroscopy of an electron irradiated benzene : carbon dioxide interstellar ice analogue (2019)
James, Rachel L.; Jones, Nykola C.; Hoffmann, Søren V. and Dawes, Anita
RSC Advances, 9(10) (pp. 5453-5459)

Probing the interaction between solid benzene and water using vacuum ultraviolet and infrared spectroscopy (2018)
Dawes, Anita; Pascual, Natalia; Mason, Nigel J.; Gärtner, Sabrina; Hoffmann, Søren V. and Jones, Nykola C.
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 20 (pp. 15273-15287)

Vacuum ultraviolet photoabsorption spectroscopy of crystalline and amorphous benzene (2017-10-05)
Dawes, Anita; Pascual, Natalia; Hoffmann, Søren V.; Jones, Nykola C. and Mason, Nigel J.
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 19 (pp. 27544-27555)

Using the C-O stretch to unravel the nature of hydrogen bonding in low-temperature solid methanol-water condensates (2016)
Dawes, Anita; Mason, Nigel and Fraser, Helen J.
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 18 (pp. 1245-1257)

Photon- and electron-stimulated desorption from laboratory models of interstellar ice grains (2010-07)
Thrower, J. D.; Abdulgalil, A. G. M.; Collings, M. P.; McCoustra, M. R. S.; Burke, D. J.; Brown, W. A.; Dawes, A.; Holtom, P. J.; Kendall, P.; Mason, N. J.; Jamme, F.; Fraser, H. J. and Rutten, F. J. M.
Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A, 28(4) (pp. 799-806)

Desorption of hot molecules from photon irradiated interstellar ices (2008-02)
Thrower, J. D.; Burke, D. J.; Collings, M. P.; Dawes, A.; Holtom, P. D.; Jamme, F.; Kendall, P.; Brown, W. A.; Clark, I. P.; Fraser, H. J.; McCoustra, M. R. S.; Mason, N. J. and Parker, A. W.
Astrophysical Journal, 673(2) (pp. 1233-1239)

The spectroscopy and chemical dynamics of microparticles explored using an ultrasonic trap (2008)
Mason, N. J.; Dawes, A.; Drage, E. A.; Webb, S. M.; McPheat, R. and Hayes, G.
Faraday Discussions, 137 (pp. 367-376)

Surface science investigations of photoprocesses in model interstellar ices (2008)
Thrower, J. D.; Collings, M. P.; McCoustra, M. R. S.; Burke, D. J.; Brown, W. A.; Dawes, A.; Holtom, P. D.; Kendall, P.; Mason, N. J.; Jamme, F.; Fraser, H. J.; Clark, I. P. and Parker, A. W.
Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A, 26(4) (pp. 919-924)

Morphological study into the temperature dependence of solid ammonia under astrochemical conditions using vacuum ultraviolet and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (2007-06-28)
Dawes, Anita; Mukerji, Robin J.; Davis, Michael P.; Holtom, Philip D.; Webb, Sarah M.; Sivaraman, Bhalamurugan; Hoffmann, Søren V.; Shaw, David A. and Mason, Nigel J.
Journal of Chemical Physics, 126, Article 244711(24)

The ultraviolet spectrum of condensed methylamine at 25 K (2007-05)
Holtom, P. D.; Dawes, A.; Davis, M. P.; Hoffmann, S. V.; Mukerji, R. J. and Mason, N. J.
Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 76(5) (pp. 745-749)

Low energy 13C+ and 13C2+ ion irradiation of water ice (2007)
Dawes, Anita; Hunniford, Adam; Holtom, Philip; Mukerji, Robin J.; McCullough, Robert W. and Mason, Nigel
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 9 (pp. 2886-2893)

VUV Spectroscopy of Extraterrestrial Ices (2006-09-22)
Mason, Nigel J.; Dawes, Anita; Holtom, Philip D.; Mukerji, Robin J.; Davis, Michael P.; Sivaraman, Bhala; Kaiser, Ralf I.; Hoffmann, Soren V. and Shaw, David A.
American Institute of Physics Conference Proceedings, 855(1) (pp. 128-139)

VUV photoabsorption spectroscopy of sulfur dioxide ice (2006-01)
Holtom, P.D.; Dawes, A.; Mukerji, R.J.; Davis, M.P.; Webb, S.M.; Hoffman, S.V. and Mason, N.J.
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 8(6) (pp. 714-718)

VUV spectroscopy and photo-processing of astrochemical ices: an experimental study (2006)
Mason, Nigel J.; Dawes, Anita; Holtom, Philip D.; Mukerji, Robin J.; Davis, Michael P.; Sivaraman, Bhalamurugan; Kaiser, Ralf I.; Hoffmann, Soren V. and Shaw, David A.
Faraday Discussions, 133 (pp. 311-329)

Atmospheric chemistry with synchrotron radiation (2005-05-14)
Mason, N.J.; Dawes, A.; Mukerji, R.; Drage, E.A.; Vasekova, E.; Webb, S.M. and Limão-Vieira, P.
Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, 38(9) (S893-S911)

Laboratory studies of astrophysical molecules: a new UCL apparatus (2005-01-10)
Dawes, A.; Mason, N.J.; Tegeder, P. and Holtom, P.
In: Whelan, C.T. and Mason, N.J. eds. Electron scattering: from atoms, molecules, nuclei and bulk matter. Physics of atoms and molecules (pp. 329-340)
ISBN : 306487012 | Publisher : Springer

Study of condensed phase molecules and molecular synthesis in astrophysical environments (2003)
Dawes, Anita; Holtom, Philip and Mason, Nigel J.
In: Haldar, Dipak and Pandalai, S.G. eds. Recent Research Developments in Chemical Physics(part II) (pp. 519-532)
ISBN : 8178950952 | Publisher : Transworld Research Network

Developing reflective assessment tasks to engage physics students with the key sustainability competencies (2024)
Braun, Martin; Dawes, Anita; Jordan, Sally; Wood, Carlton; Andrianova, Olga; Nita, Maria; Gough, Georgina; Calder, Kathleen; Astles, Paul; Meade, Rosie; Cox, Teresa and Elliott, Anna
In : 13th eSTEeM Annual Conference (10-11 Apr 2024, Milton Keynes, UK)

Developing reflective assessment tasks to engage physics students with the key sustainability competencies (2024)
Braun, Martin; Dawes, Anita; Jordan, Sally; Wood, Carlton; Andrianova, Olga; Nita, Maria; Gough, Georgina; Calder, Kathleen; Astles, Paul; Meade, Rosie; Cox, Teresa and Elliott, Anna
In : Advance HE’s Teaching and Learning Conference 2024: Future-Focused Education: Innovation, Inclusion, and Impact (2-4 Jul 2024, Nottingham Trent University, UK)

Spectroscopic study of photon, ion and electron stimulated molecular synthesis in astrophysical ices (2003)
Dawes, Anita
PhD thesis University College London (University of London)