Personal profile
Personal Statement
Paul McKenna is Deputy Associate Principal (Research & Knowledge Exchange). He leads activity in the areas of Research and Knowledge Exchange, with associated roles aligning with the University’s Postgraduate Research portfolio and Researcher Development. He was Vice Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science from September 2021 to January 2023 and Head of the Department of Physics from August 2018 to August 2021.
Prof. McKenna’s research focuses on ultra-intense laser-plasma interactions, including the development and application of laser-driven particle and radiation sources, plasma optics and photonics, and high field science.
He is a member of EPSRC's Capital Infrastructure Strategic Advisory Team since 2017 and a former member of STFC's Science Board (2017-20). He holds scientific advisory roles for several international high power laser facilities (e.g. the Program Advisory Committee for the Extreme Light infrastructure-Nuclear Physics facility) and held a visiting position at the Central Laser Facility at Harwell. He was an EPSRC Leadership Fellow from 2012-17 and was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2021.
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Cultures of Collaborative Research in a Socially Progressive Technological University
McDonald, J. (Principal Investigator), Bedford, T. (Co-investigator), Compton-Daw, E. (Co-investigator), Connolly, P. (Co-investigator), Grealy, M. (Co-investigator), Mahn, C. (Co-investigator), McKenna, P. (Co-investigator), Graham, A. (Researcher), Salamon, K. (Researcher), Sin, I. L. (Researcher), Weikum, M. K. (Researcher) & Wells-Holland, C. (Researcher)
1/01/26 → 31/10/26
Project: Research
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Relativistic Plasma Optics for Ultraintense Structured Light Generation: Dstl contribution to ETT Hub PhD studentship
McKenna, P. (Principal Investigator)
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory DSTL MoD
31/10/25 → 30/09/29
Project: Research - Studentship
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Observation of quantum effects on radiation reaction in strong fields
Los, E. E., Gerstmayr, E., Arran, C., Streeter, M. J. V., Colgan, C., Cobo, C. C., Kettle, B., Blackburn, T. G., Bourgeois, N., Calvin, L., Carderelli, J., Cavanagh, N., Dann, S. J. D., Di Piazza, A., Fitzgarrald, R., Ilderton, A., Keitel, C. H., Marklund, M., McKenna, P. & Murphy, C. . & 11 others, , 30 Jan 2026, In: Nature Communications. 17, 1, 1157.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Characterization and automated optimization of laser-driven proton beams from converging liquid sheet jet targets
Glenn, G. D., Treffert, F., Ahmed, H., Astbury, S., Borghesi, M., Bourgeois, N., Curry, C. B., Dann, S. J. D., Diiorio, S., Dover, N. P., Dzelzainis, T., Ettlinger, O., Gauthier, M., Giuffrida, L., Gray, R. J., Green, J. S., Hicks, G. S., Hyland, C., Istokskaia, V. & King, M. & 14 others, , 29 Jan 2026, In: Physical Review Research. 8, 17 p., 013101.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Downloads (Pure)
Datasets
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Data for: "Tuneable Harmonic Frequency Combs via Dual-Beam or Structured-Target Laser-Solid Interactions"
King, M. (Creator) & McKenna, P. (Creator), University of Strathclyde, 2026
DOI: 10.15129/78998a66-bc5c-4d60-b5aa-9d6003a58420
Dataset
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Data for: "Laser harmonic generation with independent control of frequency and orbital angular momentum"
King, M. (Creator) & McKenna, P. (Creator), University of Strathclyde, 24 Jul 2024
DOI: 10.15129/09b8b425-b71e-4f07-ad7a-b163946670e9
Dataset
Prizes
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Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
McKenna, P. (Recipient), 30 Mar 2020
Prize: Election to learned society
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High Power Laser Science and Engineering Outstanding Contribution Award
McKenna, P. (Recipient), 1 Oct 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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Invited Talk at the Frontiers in Plasma Physics and Technology (FPPT-11) International Conference
McKenna, P. (Speaker)
5 May 2025 → 9 May 2025Activity: Talk or Presentation › Invited talk
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Frontiers in Plasma Physics and Technology (FPPT-11) International Conference
McKenna, P. (Participant)
5 May 2025 → 9 May 2025Activity: Presenting or Organising an Event › Organiser of major conference