Success for Imperial physicists at prestigious awards

Four professors get top accolades<em> - News</em>

By Danielle Reeves
Wednesday 10 October 2007

Researchers from Imperial College London have clinched several top medals and prizes in the Institute of Physics annual awards. Four professors from the Department of Physics have received awards for work in their field, tying Imperial in first place alongside UCL, with more academic staff than any other institution being selected for 2008 awards.

In addition, two Imperial alumni also received awards in the announcement which was made by the Institute of Physics last week.

Professor Michael Rowan-Robinson, from the astrophysics group, has been awarded the 2008 Hoyle Medal and Prize for distinguished research in astrophysics, gravitational physics or cosmology.

For 40 years Professor Rowan-Robinson has been one of Europe's leading figures in astronomy and cosmology. His research into the emission of infrared radiation from dust in galaxies and quasars has led directly to a better understanding of the main populations of galaxies in our universe. As well providing new insights into the cosmological evolution of distant and dusty galaxies, Professor Rowan-Robinson has been an effective communicator of modern science, writing many popular books for a wide audience.

Commenting on being awarded the Hoyle Medal, Professor Rowan-Robinson said: "I am very honoured to be the first recipient of the Hoyle medal of the Institute of Physics. It is an especial pleasure to be linked with the name of Fred Hoyle, who was a great inspiration to me, and whose marvellous book 'Frontiers of Astronomy' was the main reason I came into astrophysics. I've had the good fortune in my career to work on a string of infrared space missions and I'm very much looking forward to the launch of HERSCHEL and PLANCK next year. I would also like to thank my brilliant collaborators."

The 2008 Thomson Medal and Prize for distinguished research in atomic or molecular physics has been awarded to Professor Edward Hinds FRS who leads the College's Centre for Cold Matter. Professor Hinds was selected for the award for his important experimental investigations in the fields of atomic physics and quantum optics.

Professor Hinds has made major contributions to several areas of fundamental and technological interest: the physics of ultracold atoms, the study of quantum interactions between light and matter in an optical cavity, and precision measurements of fundamental properties relevant to particle theory.

On hearing of his award and medal, Professor Hinds said: "I am astonished and very honoured to have been chosen for this new award in atomic and molecular physics."

Professor Patrick Gill – a visiting Professor in Imperial's department of Physics from the National Physical Laboratory – has received the 2008 Young Medal and Prize for his world leading contributions to optical-frequency metrology, which is the study of measurement.

The 2008 Paterson Medal and Prize, which is given in recognition of applied physics researchers early in their careers, has been awarded to Imperial's Professor Russell Cowburn. He was appointed Professor of Nanotechnology at Imperial College London in 2005 at the age of 34. The Paterson Medal and Prize is given to him for outstanding contributions to nano-magnetism and nano-photonics, and his internationally recognised success in commercially exploiting his research through spin-out companies.

On receiving news of the award, Professor Cowburn said: "One of the great things about Imperial is that it helps me attract some of the best scientists and technologists in the world to work with me. The excitement for me in applied physics is being able to take something all with way through from an idea to a real product that people use. That is happening right now with an idea I had 4 years ago to use lasers to detect counterfeited goods and documents."

In addition to the four awards to Imperial Professors, The Kelvin Medal and Prize for promoting the importance of physics to the general public was given to writer and broadcaster, Dr Simon Singh, who obtained his first degree in physics from Imperial. The Maxwell Medal and Prize, which is given for outstanding contributions to theoretical physics by researchers early in their careers, was awarded to Professor Sougato Bose, now at UCL, who received his PhD from Imperial's Physics Department.

Professor Donal Bradley FRS, Head of Imperial's Department of Physics, congratulated the winners saying: "That so many prizes have gone to physicists associated with the department is a testament to the quality and impact of the work that we are doing. I'm particularly pleased to see that both researchers with many decades of experience and those in the early stages of their career have been recognised with these prestigious awards."

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