Awards & Recognition

A Legacy of Scientific Leadership

The awards and recognition garnered by NAME researchers represent the pinnacle of achievement in materials science and engineering. From prestigious fellowships to innovation prizes, these honors acknowledge our contributions to advancing human knowledge and technological capability. Each accolade reinforces our position at the forefront of the quantum revolution, where our discoveries today become tomorrow's transformative technologies.

Prof. Neil Alford

Prof. Neil Alford has been elected as a Fellow of Royal Society. Fellowships are given to distinguished scientists by the Royal Society, the UK's national academy of sciences, in recognition of "contributions to science, both in fundamental research resulting in greater understanding, and also in leading and directing scientific and technological progress in industry and research establishments."

Neil said: "I am absolutely delighted to be elected to the Royal Society. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all the extraordinary colleagues and collaborators that I have worked with over many years who have made this award possible."

Technology Impact

UK Manufactured Enabling Technology

The Platform for Nanoscale Advanced Materials Engineering (P-NAME) tool developed to provide unique single-atom controlled materials modification. This has now been commercialised as the 'Q-One' by Ionoptika Ltd and is exported internationally, doubling their business size both in terms of turnover and staffing levels, leading to 25 new high-tech jobs.

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Shoebox MASER

The invention of a room temperature microwave version of the laser, MASER, enables microwave amplification with application including radio astronomy, communications and quantum technologies. The miniaturisation of the MASER enables its remote operation and deployment offering a pathway to enhanced signal to noise to mitigate against loss of satellite communication capability.

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THz Sources

The terahertz frequency quantum cascade laser has opened up the terahertz region of the spectrum for exploitation across a broad range of disciplines. Wireless communication systems operating at terahertz carrier frequencies allow access to currently unallocated spectrum, enabling a two orders-of-magnitude increase in data rates.

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Individual Honours

Dr Peter Petrov

Dr Peter Petrov was awarded The Henry Royce Institute Award for Innovation by a Technical Professional which recognised the crucial contributions of technical professionals in advancing materials science and engineering. The award is administered by IOM3 on behalf of the Henry Royce Institute.
Peter said on receiving the award, "I am deeply grateful for this recognition and at the same time inspired to continue pushing the boundaries of innovation. This award is not just a personal achievement, but this is a testament to the collaborative efforts of my team and the entire scientific community."
Dr Jessica Boland

Dr Jessica Boland was awarded the National Physical Laboratory Daphne Jackson Prize. This is an early career research prize awarded by National Physical Laboratory for jointly establishing the joint NPL s-SNOM facility at Manchester.
Prof Sarah Haigh

Prof Sarah Haigh was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry Analytical Sciences Mid-Career Prize for the development of transmission electron microscopy methods for advancing understanding of the dynamic behaviour of 2D- and nanomaterials.
Sarah said, "This prize is evidence that you can continue to succeed in science with a young family even with the huge additional challenges and stresses imposed by the pandemic over the last years."
Prof Neil Alford

Prof Neil Alford was part of a team of people awarded the Michael Faraday Medal and Prize Institute of Physics Gold Medal for their discovery of the world's first room-temperature solid-state organic maser and subsequent discovery of room-temperature continuous wave masing in diamond.
Blavatnik Awards

Prof Sarah Haigh was a Blavatnik Finalist Physical Sciences in 2022. The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom celebrate the past accomplishments and future potential of the UK's most innovative young faculty-rank (academic staff) scientists and engineers working in the three disciplinary categories of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry. Sarah was recognised for her pioneering work on advanced electron microscopy techniques, including new, atomic-resolution imaging methods for probing the behaviour of nanoparticles and 2-dimensional materials in chemical reactions in a liquid environment.
Dr Jessica Boland

The Shenggang Liu Education Foundation Zhenyi Wang award for Excellence in IRMMW-THz was awarded to Dr Jessica Boland for achievements in THz frequency characterisation of advanced functional nano-materials and their applications in THz devices. The Award consists of a cash prize of 15,000 RMB and a certificate of recognition stating the research achievements of the award recipient.