Dr Stephen Cox

Royal Society University Research Fellow

Research Interests

The behavior of liquids and their interfaces underlies many important phenomena across the biological and physical sciences. I use molecular simulations and statistical mechanics to elicit the microscopic details of interfacial systems, with an emphasis on perhaps the most important of all liquids: water and its salt solutions.

Recent research has focused on improving simulations methods to give a better description of ions adsorbed to charged interfaces [1], which is important for tackling complex problems such as ice nucleation [2]. I also have a keen interest in understanding dielectric response in water [3,4] and its implications for aqueous ion solvation [5].

Dr Cox discusses his research

[1] T Sayer & SJ Cox, J. Chem. Phys. 153, 164709 (2020) [publisher,arXiv]

[2] T Sayer & SJ Cox, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 21, 14546 (2019) [publisher,arXiv]

[3] SJ Cox, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 117, 19746 (2020) [publisher,arXiv]

[4] SJ Cox & M Sprik, J. Chem. Phys. 151, 064506 (2019) [publisher,arXiv]

[5] SJ Cox, DG Thorpe, PR Shaffer & PL Geissler, Chem. Sci. 11, 11791 (2020) [publisher,arXiv]

Recruitment

Possible PhD projects involve improving simulation methodology to understand the structure and dynamics of charged interfaces in solution; using molecular simulations to understand how polar crystals grow; or pursuing theoretical approaches to improve our understanding of complex fluids.

If you are interested in joining the team, please get in touch to discuss opportunities.

Biography

2021-present: Royal Society University Research Fellow, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, UK
2017-2021: Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellow, visiting Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, UK
2018-present: College lecturer, Churchill College, University of Cambridge, UK
2020-2021: Undergraduate Tutor, Churchill College, University of Cambridge, UK
2015-2017: Postdoctoral research fellow, Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Ca. USA
2010-2014: PhD student, Department of Chemistry, University College London, UK

Awards

2020 Journal of Chemical Physics Best Paper by an Emerging Investigator

Publications

Assessing long-range contributions to the charge asymmetry of ion adsorption at the air–water interface

SJ Cox, DG Thorpe, PR Shaffer, PL Geissler

– Chemical science

(2020)

11,

11791

(doi: 10.1039/d0sc01947j)

Computing Surface Acidity Constants of Proton Hopping Groups from Density Functional Theory-Based Molecular Dynamics: Application to the SnO2(110)/H2O Interface

M Jia, C Zhang, SJ Cox, M Sprik, J Cheng

– Journal of chemical theory and computation

(2020)

16,

6520

(doi: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00021)

Dielectric response with short-ranged electrostatics

SJ Cox

– Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

(2020)

117,

19746