Dr Cox is now based at Durham University. You can find his profile and more information here.

Research Interests

The behaviour 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].

[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]

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

Publications

Toward Accurate Adsorption Energetics on Clay Surfaces
A Zen, LM Roch, SJ Cox, XL Hu, S Sorella, D Alfè, A Michaelides
Journal of Physical Chemistry C
(2016)
120
Crystal Nucleation in Liquids: Open Questions and Future Challenges in Molecular Dynamics Simulations
GC Sosso, J Chen, SJ Cox, M Fitzner, P Pedevilla, A Zen, A Michaelides
Chemical reviews
(2016)
116
Can Ice-Like Structures Form on Non-Ice-Like Substrates? The Example of the K-feldspar Microcline
P Pedevilla, SJ Cox, B Slater, A Michaelides
J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces
(2016)
120
The Many Faces of Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation: Interplay Between Surface Morphology and Hydrophobicity.
M Fitzner, GC Sosso, SJ Cox, A Michaelides
J Am Chem Soc
(2015)
137
Molecular simulations of heterogeneous ice nucleation. II. Peeling back the layers.
SJ Cox, SM Kathmann, B Slater, A Michaelides
The Journal of Chemical Physics
(2015)
142
Molecular simulations of heterogeneous ice nucleation. I. Controlling ice nucleation through surface hydrophilicity.
SJ Cox, SM Kathmann, B Slater, A Michaelides
The Journal of Chemical Physics
(2015)
142
Benchmarking the performance of density functional theory and point charge force fields in their description of sI methane hydrate against diffusion Monte Carlo
SJ Cox, MD Towler, D Alfè, A Michaelides
J Chem Phys
(2014)
140
The microscopic features of heterogeneous ice nucleation may affect the macroscopic morphology of atmospheric ice crystals
SJ Cox, Z Raza, SM Kathmann, B Slater, A Michaelides
Faraday Discuss
(2013)
167
Non-hexagonal ice at hexagonal surfaces: The role of lattice mismatch
SJ Cox, SM Kathmann, JA Purton, MJ Gillan, A Michaelides
Phys Chem Chem Phys
(2012)
14
Free-energy-based method for step size detection of processive molecular motors.
B Bozorgui, K Shundyak, SJ Cox, D Frenkel
The European physical journal. E, Soft matter
(2010)
31

Research Group

Research Interest Group

Telephone number

01223 336384 (shared)

Email address