Professor Stephen Blundell has received the Lawrence Bragg Medal and Prize in recognition of his outstanding contributions to physics scholarship and education through widely used and influential textbooks. His publications include "Magnetism and Condensed Matter" and "Concepts in Thermal Physics" (co-authored with Professor Katherine Blundell), which have been translated into multiple languages including Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and Greek. His innovative approach to complex topics is particularly evident in "Quantum Field Theory for the Gifted Amateur," written with Tom Lancaster, and particularly popular with graduate students.
Professor Laura Herz has been awarded the Michael Faraday Medal and Prize for her pioneering advances in semiconductor photophysics. Her ground-breaking experimental work has been instrumental in understanding next-generation semiconductors and solar light harvesting applications. Through sophisticated custom-designed measurements and innovative spectroscopic experiments, she has made critical discoveries about light-matter interactions, electronic behaviour, and charge-carrier transport in various semiconductor materials. A Clarivate "Highly Cited Researcher" since 2018, Professor Herz has also been recognised for her dedication to mentoring graduate students and early-career researchers.
'I am thrilled and honoured to be the recipient of this award,' commented Professor Blundell. 'It is a particular pleasure to me that it is named after Lawrence Bragg, who combined making leading research contributions with active engagement in physics education, something that I have aspired to do throughout my career.'
'I feel delighted and honoured to have been presented with this award by the Institute of Physics,' said Professor Herz. 'Laboratory-based experimental physics offers fresh challenges every day, and this award reflects the dedication of our whole team over the last two decades of shining light on the mysteries of semiconductors.'