Ray Sharples

Ray Sharples is a Professor in the Department of Physics at Durham University, affiliated with the Centre for Advanced Instrumentation and Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy. His research focuses on developing advanced instrumentation for ground- and space-based telescopes, with applications in astronomy, fusion diagnostics, and hyperspectral remote sensing. He serves as Principal Investigator for major projects including KMOS (a €15M near-infrared spectrometer for ESO's Very Large Telescope) and SALT-HRS (a high-resolution spectrograph for the South African Large Telescope).

Sharples' research interests span astronomical instrumentation, fusion diagnostics, observational cosmology, and remote sensing. His work explores galaxy evolution through extragalactic globular cluster systems and galaxy cluster dynamics, using these as probes for testing galaxy formation theories.

His recent publications demonstrate strong focus on:

• Large-scale astronomical surveys (Euclid, DESI)
• Galaxy kinematics and dark matter distribution
• Advanced plasma diagnostics for fusion energy
• High-redshift galaxy evolution
• Spectroscopic instrumentation development

He leads instrumentation development for major international collaborations including the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) and KMOS surveys. His fusion diagnostics research involves developing novel plasma measurement systems for tokamaks like MAST-U and J-TEXT.