Rate My Professor Vicki Keast

Keast employs advanced electron microscopy and quantum mechanical simulations to probe the fundamentals of materials properties, focusing on plasmonic materials, the corrosion of silver nanoparticles, and solid-state physics. Her research unravels atomic-scale structures, bonding, and electron energy-loss spectra to explain phenomena like the vibrant colors of metals—such as the purple hue of gold-aluminum alloys arising from plasmons—and develops tunable sodium tungsten bronzes spanning blue to yellow. These plasmonic materials hold promise for applications including ultra-sensitive chemical and bio-sensing, enhanced solar cell efficiency, water splitting for hydrogen production, infrared shielding, and tumor therapy. Her expertise spans condensed matter modelling and density functional theory, nanoscale characterisation, and gender studies in physics. Key publications include the chapter 'Calculating EELS' (2016); journal articles such as 'Beyond the random phase approximation (RPA): First principles calculation of the valence EELS spectrum for KBr' (2025), 'Accurate and Efficient Computation of the Fundamental Bandgap of the Vacancy-Ordered Double Perovskite Cs2TiBr6' (2024), 'A Review of Alkali Tungsten Bronze Nanoparticles for Applications in Plasmonics' (2023), 'Atmospheric Corrosion of Silver and Silver Nanoparticles' (2022), 'Gender Bias in New South Wales Higher School Certificate (HSC) Physics' (2021), and 'The Quest for Zero Loss: Unconventional Materials for Plasmonics' (2019). Keast also explores public perceptions of physics and gender dynamics in the field.