Rate My Professor Stewart Clark

Professor Stewart Clark is a Professor in the Department of Physics at Durham University and Head of the Condensed Matter Section. He specializes in computational and theoretical condensed matter physics, with research interests encompassing the development and implementation of first-principles and empirical computer simulations for solid-state, liquid, and molecular systems. Key areas include density functional perturbation theory, first-principles calculations of spectroscopic measurements, simulations of structural and vibrational properties, techniques for excited electronic states, and large-scale simulations using high-performance computing. As a principal author of the CASTEP code—a leading density functional theory (DFT) software package utilizing plane waves and pseudopotentials—Clark has significantly advanced electronic structure calculations. CASTEP enables the modeling of material properties at the atomic level, supporting applications in semiconductors, magnets, pharmaceuticals, and LEDs through collaborations with industry and academia.

Clark's contributions have shaped the field through highly influential publications, including "First principles methods using CASTEP" (2005, over 15,000 citations), "First-principles simulation: ideas, illustrations and the CASTEP code" (2002, over 14,000 citations), "Reproducibility in density functional theory calculations of solids" (2016, 1,655 citations), "Variational density-functional perturbation theory for dielectrics and lattice dynamics" (2006, 1,043 citations), "Density functional theory in the solid state" (2014), and "Defect energy levels in HfO2 high-dielectric-constant gate oxide" (2005). His work addresses reproducibility in DFT, phase transitions in multiferroics, high-pressure elasticity, and properties of quantum dots and semiconductors. At Durham, he supervises postgraduate researchers on topics such as quantum materials and electronic properties. The impact of his research extends to interpreting experimental data, predicting novel materials, and driving technological innovations in electronics and renewable energy, with CASTEP recognized for its role in research excellence.