Daniel Doherty

Professor Daniel Doherty is a nuclear physicist at the University of Surrey's School of Mathematics and Physics. He holds the academic rank of Professor and leads research in experimental nuclear physics, focusing on nuclear structure, astrophysics, and medical physics applications. His work involves collaborations at major facilities like CERN's ISOLDE, Argonne National Laboratory, and FRIB.

His research interests include nuclear shape coexistence, neutron-rich/exotic nuclei studies, and reaction mechanisms relevant to astrophysical processes such as the r-process and p-process. He employs techniques like Coulomb excitation, gamma-ray spectroscopy, and recoil-decay tagging. Doherty has pioneered the BlueSTEAl detector system for studying direct reactions with radioactive beams.

In teaching, he leads modules on modern experimental methods, medical physics, and engineering mathematics. He also serves in academic governance as Associate Head of School (Education) and has roles in external committees including the STFC Cross-Community Panel and the ATLAS User Executive Committee at Argonne National Laboratory.

Key contributions include measuring critical reaction rates for stellar nucleosynthesis (e.g., weak r-process reactions on radioactive nuclei) and resolving long-standing puzzles in proton emission and isomer decay. His work impacts understanding of galactic element production and cosmic gamma-ray sources.