‘Quantum
Explorer’ awarded top neutron prize
Dr
Radu Coldea of
The
majority of Dr Coldea’s work uses the ISIS neutron source at the Science and
Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxford.
Dr
Coldea explained the importance of
Dr
Andrew Taylor, ISIS Director congratulated Dr Coldea and emphasised the vital
role that central facilities play in supporting university researchers: “Access
to central facilities gives young researchers cutting-edge tools enabling them
to make a rapid impact and underpinning the potential for innovation. This award
recognises the important role that basic physics research continues to play in
keeping British science at the forefront of the world.”
Dr Coldea’s
research aims to understand the properties of materials at a fundamental
microscopic level. The results could have a vast array of real life
applications, such as the synthesis of new materials with improved electric
and magnetic properties. This could lead to more efficient magnetic
memories and faster electronic
devices.
“Over
the past ten years, Radu has imaginatively exploited neutron scattering in order
to grasp the subtle electronic and magnetic properties of new materials,” said
Professor Don Paul, Chairman of the Neutron Scattering Group.
“We
are delighted to award Radu Coldea this year’s prize. The
most important results of his work include the development of an experimental
method combining neutron scattering and high magnetic fields to probe the
interactions responsible for quantum behaviour and the discovery of a
two-dimensional magnet with fractional spin-1/2 spin excitations.”
Dr
Coldea talked about his research in the keynote lecture at the annual meeting of
The B.T.M. Willis
prize is sponsored by the Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of
Chemistry. It is named after Dr Terry Willis, one of the pioneers of the use of
neutron scattering in the United Kingdom.
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