William Griffiths

Background

About William Griffiths

After graduating with a first class degree in Astrophysics from Cardiff University in 2019, I was accepted onto an experimental PhD programme in their Gravity Exploration Institute. We are building a pair of identical, co-located table-top interferometers with a principal aim of investigating the quantisation of space-time. This research will test some theories of quantum gravity which have the potential to better understand how gravity manifests at the Planck scale, and may help bridge the gap between General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Our experiment will also be sensitive to high frequency gravitational waves (so far unobserved) and it will constrain (or maybe even detect.) some scalar field dark matter candidates. My role is primarily in the design, modelling and installation of the various prototype stages required to reach our goal sensitivity. It involves working with lasers, optics, control systems and (very soon) vacuum systems. A major personal contribution has been in the design, installation and control of an output mode cleaning cavity - including the 3D design of a metallic housing. It filters the laser as it exists the main instrument, highly reducing the noise in the beam allowing unprecedented sensitivity to be achieved. Before pursuing an education in Astrophysics, I was an Avionics Technician in the British Army for 7 years. I specialised on the Apache helicopter and later the Hermes H450 UAV; which I maintained during a 6.5 month operational tour in Afghanistan in 2011-12. My last positing was at the Air Warfare Centre in RAF Waddington, where I programmed and tested the Mission Dependent Data for the Helicopter Integrated Defensive Aid System (HIDAS).