Alison Walker

Professor Alison Walker is a leading researcher in the Department of Physics at the University of Bath, specializing in computational modeling of next-generation photovoltaic materials. She holds leadership roles in multiple international research initiatives including coordination of the EU H2020 MAESTRO project (2017-2025) and serving as Bath team leader for the Energy Oriented Centre of Excellence (EoCoE). Her work spans the Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies, and the Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change.

Her research focuses on multiscale modeling of organic and perovskite electronic devices, with particular emphasis on ion transport mechanisms, degradation pathways, and hysteresis phenomena in perovskite solar cells. Recent work integrates Bayesian statistics with drift-diffusion modeling to characterize mobile ion vacancies and develop digital twin approaches for degradation prediction. Her fingerprint analysis reveals dominant contributions to perovskite solar cell research (100%), electron transfer (63%), and halide material science (47%).

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications shows an evolving research trajectory from fundamental charge transport modeling (2016-2018) toward sophisticated diagnostic tools incorporating machine learning and digital twin technologies (2023-2025). Key thematic areas include ion migration quantification, defect characterization, and the development of computational frameworks that bridge molecular-scale phenomena with device-level performance.

Professor Walker serves as Academic Director for the EPSRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training in New and Sustainable PV (CDT-PV), a seven-university consortium led by the University of Liverpool. She has supervised 21 research projects and contributes to major collaborative networks including Supersolar Network Plus and EoCoE II. Her leadership extends to national assessment as a member of the REF2021 subpanel 9 in Physics.

Her research directly supports UN Sustainable Development Goals through development of sustainable photovoltaic technologies, with applications spanning energy access, climate action, and responsible consumption. Current projects focus on making perovskite technologies truly exploitable for commercial applications while addressing fundamental stability challenges.