Oxford Instruments is pleased to announce that the 2014 winner of the Nicholas Kurti Science Prize is Dr. Alexander Ako Khajetoorians from Institute of Applied Physics, University of Hamburg.
This prestigious award, which celebrates its 10th Anniversary, is sponsored by Oxford Instruments, a leading provider of high technology tools and systems for industry and research.
Dr. Khajetoorians joined the Institute of Applied Physics, University of Hamburg in 2008, following his graduate work in the group of Prof. Chih-Kang Shih at the University of Texas, Austin. He was awarded the prize for the first demonstration of all-spin atomic-scale logic devices as well as the realization of artificial nanomagnets with tailored properties, based on the fundamental knowledge of the atomic-scale spin-dependent interactions.
More recently, Alexander Khajetoorians has begun to explore new materials like topological insulators, as well as address magnetization dynamics at the atomic scale. He has already published several papers concerning the magnetization dynamics of single spins coupled to metallic surfaces.
The work of Alexander Khajetoorians has been published in the most recognized journals in the world, including Science and Nature, as well as Physical Review Letters. His achievements were recognized by the Gerhard Ertl Young Investigator Award at the spring meeting of the German Physical Society (DPG) in 2012, which is an international award for young researchers recognizing significant achievements in the field of surface science. He was also awarded an Emmy Noether Research Group in summer 2013, sponsored by the German Science Foundation (DPG), which he presently leads.
Professor George Pickett of Lancaster University, chairman of the committee of senior scientists who assess the nominations, commented: “The panel have decided to award the prize to Alexander Khajetoorians from a very strong panel of nominees. We were particularly impressed by his pioneering work on the magnetic aspects of nanoscience including spintronics down to the single-atom scale. His work shows much potential for the development of novel devices. The importance of this field has been demonstrated by its high prominence among the work of the prize nominees in recent years.”
The Nicholas Kurti European Science Prize is intended to recognise and promote outstanding achievements of young scientists in the field of physical sciences research and to support their career development. It is named after Professor Nicholas Kurti known for his distinguished work in ultra-low temperature physics at the Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford University. The prize winner receives a €8000 cash prize, a unique trophy and certificate. The winner also has the opportunity to present his work at a conference of his choice.
Previous winners of the prize include Dr Lapo Bogani, Dr Ronald Hanson, Prof. Mathias Kläui, Dr Christian Rüegg, Dr. John Morton, Prof. Lieven Vandersypen, Sir Prof. Kostantin Novoselov, Prof. Dr. Andreas Wallraff and Dr. Silvano De Franceschi.
More information on the prize can be found at: www.oxford-instruments.com/scienceprize
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