Role
Ed is a Principal Lecturer and the Courses Manager for Physics at NTU, with primary research interests in both exotic NMR(I) experiments and innovative teaching and learning for physics. Ed acts as academic lead for both undergraduate and postgraduate physics at NTU, as well as the principal course developer. Ed currently contributes to teaching in Thermodynamics, Nuclear Physics, Experimental Skills, Ballistics and Firearms, and Project Management, and takes pride in an engaging, multi-platform teaching style to convey specialised topics in physics.
Career overview
Ed obtained a 1st class MSci Physics degree from NTU before completing his PhD in Temperature-Jump Dynamic Nuclear Polarization at the University of Nottingham. Ed has worked in a number of commercial environments at companies such as Thomas Keating Ltd. and Cole Parmer, consulting on low-temperature physics, nuclear magnetic resonance, and inductive electronics, and has provided associate supervision on a 5* rated Knowledge Transfer Partnership. Ed has taught, developed, and led numerous modules, and acted as cohort-wide Year 2 Tutor prior to taking on Courses Management. Ed is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and has won awards for both excellence in teaching (2019 Team Award for Teaching & 2023 Vice-Chancellors Teaching Excellence Award) and student support (2020 Student-Led Teaching Awards – Outstanding Pastoral Support).
Ed enjoys scientific communication and has been featured on national television (including BBC’s The One Show) and radio, as well as having been invited to present international talks on topics in popular physics. The live shows and events he has been involved with have drawn a total footfall on the order of 100,000 people over the last 8 year. Ed currently sits as the Chair of the National Support Network for the "I am a Physicist" Girlguiding Badge, a challenge that Ed has been involved with since its conception and has thus far been completed by over 50,000 girls across the globe.
Research areas
Ed’s career path at Nottingham Trent University is Teaching and Scholarship, meaning that his research interests align most strongly with innovative pedagogies, enhancement of the student experience, and student progression. Ed’s primary area of research outside of such pedagogy is in instrumental physics and novel magnetic resonance hardware and applications, although he is particularly interested in the natural world, specifically fascinated by minerals, invertebrates, and marine life.
External activity
Ed holds positions with the following:
- Regional Chair of the Institute of Physics (East Midlands Branch)
- Member of the IoP Degree Accreditation Committee
- Charitable Trustee at Green’s Windmill Trust, Sneinton
- Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy
- Chair of the NTU Physics Employer Advisory Board
Publications
Breeds, E., 2018. Novel hardware for temperature-jump DNP (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nottingham).
Newton, M.I., Breeds, E.A. and Morris, R.H., 2017. Advances in electronics prompt a fresh look at continuous wave (CW) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Electronics, 6(4), p.89.
Mears, M., Breeds, E., Dash, L., Heywood, S., Oldershaw, E., Sala, B., Skipsey, S., Testrow, C., Vaughan, H., Whittaker, I. and Wyllie, Z.E., 2026. Decolonising the physics curriculum: workshop findings report.
Whittaker, I.C., Thomson, J., Dilley-Salter, M., Adams, R., Breeds, E.A., Roffin, M.C., Shaw, L. and Bolton-King, R.S., 2026. Using open-source software and interdisciplinary teaching to increase digital forensics accessibility, and inclusivity, with sustainable development and learning in higher education. Science & Justice, p.101398.
Whittaker, I., Szczerba, R., Shaw, L. and Breeds, E., 2026. Inter-Disciplinary Undergraduate Student Co-Creation: Animation and Physics Working Together to Produce High-Quality Teaching Materials. Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 18(3).
Lindsay, T., Breeds, E. and Whittaker, I., 2025. An analysis of science communication courses in the UK for the development of physics students. Open Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 5(1).
Press expertise
- MRI
- Low temperature physics
- Thermodynamics
- Physics of Invertebrates
- Physics of Marine Invertebrates
- Do-it-at-Home Science Experiments
- Scientific Communication
