Imperial Materials Professors receive awards at 2024 conferences

by Kayleigh Brewer

04 October 2024

Professor Sir Robin Grimes FRS FREng and Professor John Kilner were each recognised with awards for their research contributions.

Professor Sir Robin Grimes, 2024 Robert Cahn Award

Professor Sir Robin Grimes FRS FREng has been awarded the 2024 Robert Cahn Award ahead of the Nuclear Materials Conference. The award recognises an outstanding scientist who has a high scientific profile in the field of nuclear materials, the ability to communicate science to a broad audience and who has demonstrated interest in breaking down barriers between different scientific disciplines.

Professor Grimes is a Professor of Materials Physics in the Department of Materials at Imperial College London and BCH Steele Chair in Energy Materials. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering and was knighted in 2022.

Between 2013 and 2018, he held the position of Chief Scientific Adviser to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. From 2017 to 2021, he worked as Chief Scientific Adviser (nuclear) to the UK Ministry of Defence.

His research uses static and dynamic atomic scale computer simulation techniques to predict the behaviour of materials for energy applications including nuclear fission and fusion, focusing on fuel and waste performance.

To celebrate the award, Professor Grimes is invited to give a plenary lecture at the next Nuclear Materials Conference in Singapore in October 2024.

Professor John Kilner, Senior Scientist Award

Professor John Kilner has received the Senior Scientist Award at the 24th Solid State Ionics 2024 conference, the highest award of the ISSI. The conference was held in London with over 600 international attendees.

Professor Kilner is currently a Senior Research Investigator in the Department of Materials, having retired as B.C.H.Steele Professor of Energy Materials. He is a former head of the Department of Materials (2000-2006) and a former Dean of the Royal School of Mines (1998-2000).

Professor Kilner is also a Professor in the International Institute for Carbon Neutral Energy Research I2CNER at Kyushu University in Japan. Additionally, he has acted as a scientific advisor to CICenergiGUNE (Basque energy research centre) in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain and also acted as the group leader for ceramic electrolytes.

He has been involved in research into ionic and mixed conducting ceramics for 30 years and has published over 500 papers. He is also the holder of a number of patents relating to fuel cells and gas separation devices and the co-founder of a successful spinout company CeresPower Ltd.