From PhD Student to Fellow
Professor Bartomeu Monserrat, Fellow in Physics
When I arrived at Robinson College in 2011 to begin my PhD in Physics, I didn’t expect my teaching journey to start so quickly. But that very first year, I was asked to supervise first-year undergraduate Physics students. I found the experience both challenging and energising. Helping students navigate the intensity of their first year and watching their confidence and independence grow was immensely rewarding. One of my very first supervisees went on to complete a PhD in the Theory of Condensed Matter Group at the Cavendish Laboratory. Seeing students flourish and follow their own academic paths has remained one of the most satisfying parts of my work.
That supervision experience also planted the seed for what would become a long-standing interest in educational innovation. Robinson provided an environment where I felt trusted to experiment, even within the traditional framework of Cambridge teaching. That openness and support continued throughout my time at the College: first as a PhD student, then as the Henslow Research Fellow, and now as a Fellow of the College, a role I have held since being appointed to a faculty position in 2020 at the University.
Robinson has been my academic home for well over a decade, and it continues to shape how I teach, research, and think about education at Cambridge and beyond. That mutual growth, being supported while also being trusted to challenge and change, has defined my relationship with the College. It is exactly that combination of openness and grounding that makes Robinson so special. This kind of reciprocal development is not just a personal experience, it is something deeply embedded in the College’s identity, and what makes it such a genuine and forward-looking academic community.
Although I was not an undergraduate at Cambridge, I quickly came to appreciate the distinctive power of the supervision system. It offers a level of individualised engagement that is rare in higher education: the ability to tailor discussions to a student’s specific background, interests, and challenges. That kind of flexibility is especially valuable in a subject like quantum mechanics, which is conceptually abstract and mathematically demanding, and which I have taught for years. Students come to it with diverse strengths, some with a strong grasp of the maths, others with more physical intuition, and being able to adapt teaching accordingly makes a real difference.
Digital resources can extend this personalised approach far beyond the supervision room. Over time, I began developing online materials to supplement and enhance student learning. These resources eventually evolved into something larger: my YouTube channel - @ProfessorMdoesScience. This started as a supplement to flipped-classroom teaching, where students watch short video lectures in advance and use class time for interactive discussions and problem solving. I began making concise, focused videos on key quantum mechanics topics to help my students prepare. But the material resonated far beyond Cambridge. The channel now reaches learners around the world with over 25,000 active students and over 1,000 views per day.
The content ranges from fundamental concepts like wavefunctions and the uncertainty principle to more advanced topics, including the quantum origins of chemistry and the behaviour of materials at the atomic scale. It's been remarkable to see how far this content travels: I have now taught more students online than I could ever hope to reach through traditional teaching over a 35+ year career. The experience has highlighted for me the extraordinary potential of digital platforms to widen access and complement in-person learning.
Linking research and teaching
My teaching is closely intertwined with my research, which focuses on using high-performance computing to solve the equations of quantum mechanics to understand and design complex materials. I lead a team of around 15 postdocs, PhD students, and master’s students in developing computational models that predict the properties of new materials long before they are made in the lab. These materials include superconductors, semiconductors, and topological materials, with potential applications ranging from solar cells and LEDs to low-power electronic devices that could help meet future energy demands. We work closely with a range of industrial and governmental partners, including Samsung, Rolls Royce, and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. These collaborations ensure that our theoretical models can help inform real-world technologies, guiding the design of materials for specific needs.
One of the most satisfying aspects of my role is helping students connect what they are learning in quantum mechanics lectures to the research we’re doing at the cutting edge of the field. Being able to show that the same mathematical tools they are studying underpin the design of next-generation materials helps make the subject come alive and often inspires students to pursue research themselves, be it in academia or industry.
The pace of change in education is accelerating. Digital platforms, open-access resources, and emerging tools like AI agents are transforming how students engage with content. I have seen first-hand how technology can offer flexibility and personalisation that complements traditional teaching. But these tools must serve good pedagogy. At their best, they extend access, reinforce understanding, and foster curiosity.
In September, I began a new role as a Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, working directly with senior university leadership on educational innovation and development. My focus will be on exploring how Cambridge—across Departments, Faculties, Colleges, and the wider ecosystem—can take a leading role in shaping the future of higher education. I am particularly excited about how Colleges like Robinson, which already pioneer student-focused and adaptive education, can help lead this effort. Robinson has always supported new thinking about teaching, and I look forward to working with the College to share and develop innovative models that could benefit the wider University community.
From PhD student to Fellow, my entire academic journey at Cambridge has been anchored at Robinson. It’s the place where I first stood in front of a whiteboard trying to explain a tricky bit of quantum mechanics, and it is where I was first encouraged to experiment, to try new approaches to learning and teaching. That same spirit of curiosity, trust, and community continues to guide my work, whether I am supervising a student, writing code for a quantum simulation, or scripting the next video lesson for the channel.
Education is changing, but the core values I learned at Robinson remain just as relevant. Effective teaching is about responsiveness, connection, and discovery. Innovation helps us bring those values to more people, more meaningfully, and more sustainably.
Take a look at Bartomeu's popular YouTube Channel: @ProfessorMdoesScience.