Victoria WelchUniversity of Namur | FUNDP · Department of Physics
Victoria Welch
BSc (Hons)(Lond), DPhil (Oxon)
About
22
Publications
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Citations
Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Additional affiliations
January 2012 - present
January 2012 - September 2012
Univeristy of Namur (FUNDP)
Position
- Maitre des Conferences (Lecturer) in Science Communication
January 2009 - December 2011
Self-employed, UK
Position
- Freelance Science Writer and Magazine Columnist
Description
- Various science writing projects, Monthly columns in two commercial magazines
Education
September 2000 - December 2003
September 1996 - June 1999
Publications
Publications (22)
Porous photonic structures found in several living organisms are known to display colour changes induced upon contact with liquids, vapours and gases. Usually these changes are due to physico-chemical phenomena such as the swelling of the structure enacted by the fluids, vapour physisorption on the pore walls, capillary condensation or a combinatio...
The large male tarantula Pamphobeteus antinous is easily recognized at the presence of blue-violet iridescent bristles on some of the segments of its legs and pedipalps. The optical properties of these colored appendages have been measured and the internal geometrical structure of the bristles have been investigated. The coloration is shown to be c...
Fluorescent molecules are much in demand for biosensors, solar cells, LEDs and VCSEL diodes, therefore, considerable efforts have been expended in designing and tailoring fluorescence to specific technical applications. However, naturally occurring fluorescence of diverse types has been reported from a wide array of living organisms: most famously,...
Structural color in Nature has been observed in plants, insects and birds, and has led to a strong interest in these phenomena and a desire to understand the mechanisms responsible. Of particular interest are the optical properties of butterflies. In this paper, we review three investigations inspired by the unique optical properties exhibited in a...
Periodic dielectric multilayer structures can generate interferential colours from optically transparent basic materials. Their iridescence property, i.e. the change of colour with the illumination or viewing angle, is exploited in the industry to produce structurally coloured coatings and paints. Magnetron sputtering is an efficient technique for...
We report a study of two distantly related day-flying lepidopterous insects [Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae: Mercedes atnius (Herrich-Schäffer, 1853); Nymphalidae: Morpho rhetenor (Cramer, 1775)]. Their wing dorsa generate superficially similar blue structural colour. Cover- and ground-scale layers in the wings of the species involved were investigated us...
The wings of the giant wasp Megascolia procer javanensis are opaque and iridescent. The origin of the blue-green iridescence is studied in detail, using reflection spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and physical modeling. It is shown that the structure responsible for the iridescence is a single homogeneous transparent chitin layer coverin...
Recent advances in the photonics and optics industries have produced great demand for ever more sophisticated optical devices, such as photonic crystals. However, photonic crystals are notoriously difficult to manufacture. Increasingly, therefore, researchers have turned towards naturally occurring photonic structures for inspiration and a wide var...
Iridescent surfaces exhibit vivid colours which change with the angle of incidence or viewing due to optical wave interference in the multilayer structure present at the wavelength scale underneath the surface. In nature, one can find examples of iridescent Coleoptera for which the hue changes either greatly or slightly with the angle. Because thes...
The tortoise beetle Charidotella egregia is able to modify the structural color of its cuticle reversibly, when disturbed by stressful external events. After field observations, measurements of the optical properties in the two main stable color states and scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope investigations, a physical...
The three-dimensional structure that causes the coloration of the tropical weevil Pachyrrhynchus congestus pavonius was studied, using a combination of electron microscopy, optical spectroscopy, and numerical modeling. The orange scales that cover the colored rings on the animal's body were opened, to display the structure responsible for the color...
When biological photonic crystals are discussed, butterfly photonic crystals are often cited as representative; in fact, numerous
diverse biological photonic crystals exist and butterfly photonic crystals have several quirks when compared with others,
with the consequence that considering them typical is in many ways unhelpful. In this paper, we gi...
Using transmission electron microscopy, analytical modeling, and detailed numerical simulations, the iridescence observed from the comb rows of the ctenophore Beroë cucumis was investigated. It is shown that the changing coloration which accompanies the beating of comb rows as the animal swims can be explained by the weakly-contrasted structure of...
Beetles in dimly lit tropical forests often display structural colours, but in direct sunlight only part of the insect can be seen from any direction - it appears as a spot of light because multilayer reflectors on its rounded surface act like mirrors. Here we describe a beetle, Pachyrhynchus argus, found in forests in northeastern Queensland, Aust...
We discuss two examples of living creatures using photonic crystals to achieve iridescent colouration. The first is the sea mouse (Aphroditidae, Polychaeta), which has a hexagonal close packed structure of holes in its spines and lower-body felt, while the second is the jelly fish Bolinopsis infundibulum, which has an oblique array of high index in...
Supervisor: Andrew Parker. Thesis (D. Phil.)--University of Oxford, 2003. Includes bibliographical references.