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Dr. Wicks research covers the physics of plasma in the solar corona, solar wind, and near-Earth environment. He is an expert in the design and use of space plasma instrumentation onboard satellites and is a co-investigator of the ESA Solar Orbiter mission Solar Wind Analyser EAS instrument. He analyses data from spacecraft to investigate the processes that heat and accelerate plasma, especially turbulence and waves. He also works on space weather and risk mitigation. Dr Wicks is a keen space technologist with current projects including the development of a laser communications system for CubeSats and the proposal of future missions to the UK Space Agency and ESA for astrophysical plasma physics research.

• ALIGN: Laboratory Characterisation of 976 nm Beacon and 1550 nm Data Lasers for CubeSat Free-Space Optical Inter-Satellite Links, Riaz, A., Scullion, E., Wicks, R., Vernon, J., Binns, R., Khorchef, N., Obreque, E., Martin, J. 12 May 2026, 2026 6th Middle East and North Africa Communications Conference (MENACOMM), Piscataway, NJ, IEEE
• Characterisation of amplified laser beam profiles subject to changing EDFA pump currents in CubeSats, Riaz, A., Scullion, E., Wicks, R., Ahmed, Z., Obreque, E., Khorchef, N., Vernon, J., del Valle, C., Zia-Ul-Mustafa, R., Binns, R., Martin, J. 5 Mar 2026, Free-Space Laser Communications XXXVIII, Washington, United States, SPIE
• Evidence for a link between turbulence and the generation of ion cyclotron waves via the helicity barrier effect in the solar wind, Panchal, U., Wicks, R., Stawarz, J. 20 Apr 2025, In: The Astrophysical Journal
• Pointing, Acquisition, and Tracking (PAT) for Optical Satellite Communications: Recent Trends and the ALIGN UK Mission’s PAT Mechanism, Zia-Ul-Mustafa, R., Graham, C., Obreque, E., Binns, R., Scullion, E., Wicks, R., Martin, J., Riaz, A., Khorchef, N., Vernon, J., Bourgenot, C. 28 Oct 2025, 2025 IEEE International Conference on Space Optical Systems and Applications (ICSOS), Piscataway, NJ, IEEE
• Severe Space Weather Impacts on UK Critical National Infrastructure, Allcock, M., Pidgeon, A., Black , G., Prestwood, E., Frayling, A., Cucaro, S., Lecky, W., Coxon, J., Smith, A., Bentley, S., Watt, C., Wicks, R., Rae, J. 1 Jan 2025
• Design and control of a steering mirror for a freespace optical communications CubeSat for gigabit inter-satellite links, Graham, C., Bramall, D., Younus, O., Riaz, A., Binns, R., Scullion, E., Wicks, R., Bourgenot, C. 3 Oct 2024, CubeSats, SmallSats, and Hosted Payloads for Remote Sensing VIII, San Diego, SPIE
• Overview of Space-Based Laser Communication Missions and Payloads: Insights from the Autonomous Laser Inter-Satellite Gigabit Network (ALIGN), Younus, O., Riaz, A., Binns, R., Scullion, E., Wicks, R., Vernon, J., Graham, C., Bramall, D., Schmoll, J., Bourgenot, C. 5 Nov 2024, In: Aerospace
• Steering Mirror System with Closed-Loop Feedback for Free-Space Optical Communication Terminals, Graham, C., Bramall, D., Younus, O., Riaz, A., Binns, R., Scullion, E., Wicks, R., Bourgenot, C. 23 Apr 2024, In: Aerospace
• Turbulent Energy Conversion Associated With Kinetic Microinstabilities in Earth's Magnetosheath, Lewis, H., Stawarz, J., Matteini, L., Franci, L., Klein, K., Wicks, R., Salem, C., Horbury, T., Wang, J. 28 Dec 2024, In: Geophysical Research Letters
• An ESA Nanosatellite Constellation to Monitor Space Weather Effects, Eckersley, S., Rowe, S., Hill, W., Forsyth, C., Wicks, R., Eastwood, J., Brown, P., Dániel, V., Gromeš, J., Junas, M., Ryden, K., Heil, M., Terzo, S., Gonzalo, A., Jiggens, P. 2 Oct 2023, In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC

• ROARS - CubeSats Revealing Orbital and Atmospheric Responses to Solar Activity, Scullion, E. (Principal Investigator), Wicks, R. (Co Investigator), European Space Agency, 02/10/23 - 01/04/24, £8,197.00
• Laser Communication and Cubesat - Phase 3, Scullion, E. (Principal Investigator), Wicks, R. (Co Investigator), UK Space Agency, 01/12/22 - 31/03/25, £4,687,593.00
• Laser Communications in CuebSats, Scullion, E. (Principal Investigator), Wicks, R. (Co Investigator), UK Space Agency, 01/10/21 - 31/03/22, £647,283.00

You can watch Dr Wicks lecture on the topic of space weather , if you are interested in learning more as part of an undergraduate or graduate physics degree, then take a look at the Northumbria Physics BSc, Physics with Astrophysics BSc, MPhys and PhD programme webpages.

• Physics PhD December 01 2008
• Physics MSc June 30 2005
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy FHEA 2018