Dr. Benjamin Chambers
Electron and Ion Scattering Spectroscopy Facility Manager
Flinders Microscopy and MicroAnalysis
College of Science and Engineering
Physical Sciences

Ben completed his PhD in 2018 and started working at Flinders Microscopy and MicroAnalysis in 2019.

His PhD research explored the characterisation of 2 dimensional materials (only one atom thick) using a combination of unique instrumentation available at Flinders University. He spent most of his time using metastable induced electron spectroscopy (MIES), one of the instruments he now manages!

‘Ben has successfully measured quantitatively the electronic structure of two-dimensional materials which is highly relevant for using these materials in new generation electronic devices.’

We asked Ben to share with us his thoughts on his study pathway;

“I originally considered the PhD to be the natural progression in my learning. Having finished my PhD I can now look back at the experience and recommend it for different reasons.
Throughout school I studied to impress my parents, throughout my undergraduate studies I began to learn for myself and develop my own knowledge.

I studied Honours to then apply my knowledge towards a project predetermined by my supervisors.

The PhD experience has been the most valuable as I learned to find and explore the gaps in existing knowledge and develop my own ways to investigate these.
This is ultimately where I gained my confidence in not only applying knowledge but exploring it. A skill I believe can be applied to all areas in life!”