Joe Allen

Subject area: Engineering

Principle Lecturer

Director: Postgraduate Programmes

Joe graduated from Downing College, University of Cambridge in 1976 with a degree in Natural Sciences having specialized in mathematics and theoretical physics. 

He returned to his native North East of England where he worked in industry for 13 years undertaking research and development work on the properties and manufacturing processes associated with fused silica and other refractory oxides and held positions such as Project Manager and Group Technical Manager.  During this period he was awarded his Master's degree in advanced experimental physics by part time study and in 1989 he joined the staff of the Department of Physics at Newcastle Polytechnic, subsequently to become Northumbria University, as a Senior Lecturer.

He is currently a Principal Lecturer and Postgraduate Programme Director within the School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences where he has responsibility for operational aspects of all of the School’s taught postgraduate programmes and teaches a range of physics based subjects mainly in the field of optoelectronics.  He has had a diverse range of research interests over the years and is currently involved in the development of high speed LED light sources and free-space optical communications.

An active member of the Institute of Physics, Joe has served on the committee of the North Eastern Branch since 1996.  He has also been the Institute’s Higher Education Representative to Northumbria University since 2002.

As a member of the Northumbria Communications Research Laboratory, he continues to be research active, most recently as joint author of publications on high speed optical sources and free-space optical communications.

Joe is married with three grown-up children.  He is a keen photographer and bass guitarist and is the holder of a private pilot’s licence.