The awards celebrate the work of MPLS researchers who have made significant contributions to the economy or wider society at large, through their research.
This year's winners were selected from nominations representing MPLS researchers at all career stages. The winners will each receive a £1,000 prize in recognition of their achievements.
In addition to the four winning projects, the judging panel made a further two commendations.
Chair of the MPLS Impact Awards judging panel, Professor Dermot O'Hare, said: 'It has been tremendously satisfying to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of our departmental colleagues, whose research continues to deliver meaningful benefits to both the economy and wider society.
'Our MPLS Impact Awards panel considered nominations of academics, early career researchers, DPhil students, and technicians, across several impact categories, which include: technician, public engagement with research, social, commercial, and policy impact. The calibre of nominations has been exemplary, and the panel recognised the remarkable achievements with awards and commendations across several categories. I remain continually impressed and gratified to witness how our colleagues persist in creating positive change.'
Professor Jim Naismith, Head of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Science Division, said: ‘The work we do in MPLS will help change the future for the better. Science is a team activity and it’s great to see its breadth across the Division. I am delighted to congratulate the nominees and winners whose work is already showing its impact outside the University.’
Winners
MPLS Technician Impact Award: Adam Lowe (Department of Physics)
Developing Novel Low Mass Composite Materials for Particle Physics Instrumentation
Low mass composite material developed by Adam LoweAdam has developed, patented, and licensed several innovative techniques for fabricating low-mass composite materials, with applications both in particle physics and beyond. A licensing agreement with an Oxfordshire-based company has enabled the establishment of a centre of excellence within the department, dedicated to advancing this technology.
The materials and methods he has pioneered support the use of ultra-lightweight composites in a wide range of new applications, including those requiring vacuum compatibility and high thermal resistance – making them particularly attractive to the aerospace and automotive industries. These developments have also led to transformative improvements in particle physics instrumentation, initially benefiting projects such as LHCb and Mu3e.
Within the Department of Physics, this technology has enabled the development of advanced support structures for particle physics experiments, significantly enhancing the precision of measurements in next-generation detector systems. The dramatically lower mass of these structures reduces disturbance to particle trajectories, enabling more accurate tracking.
These innovations have been patented and are now being commercialised through a licensing agreement with an external company. The company will manufacture lightweight structural, electromagnetic, and thermal shielding components for aerospace and automotive applications – delivering significant commercial benefits to both the university and the regional economy.
Professor Andrew Boothroyd, Head of the Department of Physics said: 'Adam exemplifies how advanced technical expertise brought into the University from industry can provide innovative solutions to the way science is done. His work also demonstrates how fundamental research can generate spin-offs that have impact in wider technological applications.’
MPLS Commercial Impact Award: Maurice Fallon & David Wisth (Department of Engineering Science)
NavLive Limited – a spin-out company developing accurate mapping technology for the architecture and construction sector
NavLive handheld 3D mappingTracking the progress or status of a modern construction project is complex. They are dynamic environments with many active partners or companies. Construction as a sector represents 10% of the world economy but has struggled to modernise and digitise. Cost overruns and delays are commonplace.
NavLive is developing highly accurate handheld 3D mapping technology licensed from the Department of Engineering Science to develop pipelines that allow site owners to quickly build maps and to automatically track the status of their building projects and in doing so identify errors or deviations from their intended 3D plans – reducing waste, avoiding CO2 and keeping projects on track.
The underpinning research, developed 2018-2022 in Oxford Robotics Institute, created 3D tracking algorithms which use incremental 3D smoothing to produce a highly accurate trajectory of the device. The key innovation was to fuse measurements from three different sensors in a lightweight and efficient manner and in real-time: vision (from three cameras), lidar and inertial sensing using onboard computation.
Professor Nick Hawes, Director of the Oxford Robotics Institute, said: 'NavLive is a fantastic example of innovation from the Oxford Robotics Institute. It shows the full pathway from world-leading, basic research on localisation and mapping, a topic essential for autonomous robot operation, all the way to commercialisation in a high value application where the underpinning technology brings a new capability to a sector that needs it.'
MPLS Early Career Public Engagement with Research Award: Dr Eimear Conroy (Department of Physics)
Big Data: ATLAS – giving students the opportunity to explore their own questions in particle physics
Dr Eimear Conroy, Department of Physics and Institute for Research in SchoolsThe Big Data: ATLAS project brings together the Department of Physics, the Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS), and the Particle Physics Department at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). Over 30 weeks, students learn analytical and coding methods used by particle physicists and develop skills such as statistical analysis. They are taught how to use Python to access and manipulate ATLAS data before developing a research idea of their own and preparing a presentation to showcase their work.
The project is designed to support students with little or no prior experience in particle physics or computer programming. Through this partnership, 518 students across the UK have engaged with real particle physics research – boosting their science capital and helping them see that a career in STEM research is within reach.
Across two academic years (2023/24 and 2024/25), Big Data: ATLAS delivered meaningful and measurable impact on students' knowledge, skills, and aspirations. A total of 518 young people participated in the project, with 28 schools (82% state-funded) participating in 2023/24 and 37 schools (95% state-funded) in 2024/25. In 2023/24, 37% of participants were girls (compared to ~23% studying A-level Physics).
Evaluation data demonstrated significant impact: 66% of students were more aware of how STEM can help in the real world, 89% felt that people like them could be researchers, and 86% felt that research is an interesting career. Participating students from five UK schools submitted a peer-reviewed academic paper which was accepted by the European Physical Journal Plus.
Professor Andrew Boothroyd, Head of the Department of Physics, said: 'The Big Data: ATLAS project is a superlative example of highly effective science outreach. Eimear has been involved in all aspects of the project from conception to delivery, and through her energy and skill was instrumental to its success. She has had a sustained role in the project throughout her Oxford DPhil and post-doc in the Department of Physics, and hence the impact has been generated while she has been a member of MPLS. Evidence for the impact she has made on the many hundreds of participants is clear from the information above. This is an extraordinary achievement which I endorse fully.'
MPLS Early Career Policy Impact Award: Edd Salkield (Department of Computer Science)
Security of Satellite Communications Infrastructure
Edd has identified and analysed a significant vulnerability in the latest high data rate satellite communication standards, which are adopted by all major space agencies including NASA, the UK Space Agency, and the European Space Agency (ESA). He was sponsored by ESA to present these issues to the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), the standards body responsible for space communications, after this work won both Best Paper and Best Student Paper awards at the "Security for Space Systems" conference in 2024.
Due to the severity of the issue, this resulted in immediate action being taken by the CCSDS Security Working Group to update the recommended policy and standards, as well as further internal changes within ESA and updated cybersecurity guidance from ISC2, the world's largest cybersecurity standards and practice organisation.
The vulnerability has wide-ranging impact since it shows that government satellite missions can be hijacked and jammed with extremely cheap hardware, and at lower power than previously thought possible. This affects all major space agencies as well as commercial VSAT systems. The changes to standards 131.3-B-2 and 131.2-B-2 were ratified in November 2024, affecting over 11 national space agencies and 140 industrial associates.
His previous work within this topic resulted in the discovery of a vulnerability in SpaceX's Starlink user terminal, which allowed attackers to remotely disable Starlink hardware, and impacted every Starlink customer. After responsible disclosure, SpaceX implemented fixes across 1 million user terminals.
Professor Leslie Ann Goldberg, Head of the Department of Computer Science, said: 'The vulnerabilities Edd has discovered have immediate and significant implications for the security and resilience of critical government and commercial satellite systems. The importance of these contributions is reflected in the promptness and scale of the changes made in response by the relevant bodies, including changes to international satellite communications standards adopted by all major space agencies. As acknowledged by senior technical government and industry contacts, Edd has made significant contributions to this coordinated international response, over and above the research itself, demonstrating impressive impact for a researcher at his stage.'
Commendations
MPLS Early Career Commercial Impact (Commended): Dr Shuaifeng Hu (Department of Physics)
Ultra-Thin-Film Photovoltaics Powering Clean Energy Revolution
Dr Shuaifeng Hu, Department of PhysicsDr Shuaifeng Hu's research has significantly advanced perovskite photovoltaic technology –an emerging solution for the global clean energy transition. By focusing on "narrow-bandgap" perovskites, which absorb visible and infrared light, and developing innovative chemistry-based approaches along with device physics, he achieved a record 23.6% efficiency for single-junction solar cells in 2021, leading the field for over two years.
The methodology developed also enabled perovskite-on-silicon tandem photovoltaics to surpass 34% efficiency, a commercialised technology. In 2024, he developed nearly 30% record efficiency double- and triple-junction and the first-ever quadruple-junction ultra-thin (less than 3 micrometres) photovoltaics, fully eliminating the need for energy-intensive silicon (over 150 micrometres).
The research has set new benchmarks in solar energy efficiency and has made impacts that accelerate the global shift toward sustainable, cost-effective renewable energy solutions.
Professor Andrew Boothroyd, Head of the Department of Physics, said: ‘Shuaifeng has made significant advances towards the goal of high efficiency perovskite photovoltaics for solar cell applications. This is clearly a field which is of the utmost importance to the generation of renewable energy and amelioration of climate change.’
MPLS Early Career Policy Impact (Commended): Natalie Duffus (Department of Biology)
Raising awareness of the ecological outcomes of Biodiversity Net Gain
Natalie Duffus, Department of BiologyBiodiversity markets are proliferating globally as countries use markets to achieve goals under the Global Biodiversity Framework. One such market is England's new biodiversity market, underpinned by Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), a policy requiring new construction projects to provide a 10% improvement to nature, measured using a simple proxy metric.
Natalie's research has demonstrated fundamental issues in the way that BNG measures biodiversity, meaning that it may not deliver optimal conservation outcomes for insects, a diverse group fulfilling a range of ecosystem functions. This work has considered the ways in which the design and implementation of BNG could be improved to secure better outcomes for nature.
She has communicated these findings with policymakers in England not only to inform future iterations of BNG and the metric, but also to inform the government's own strategy for nature recovery on its own land. Additionally, as BNG in England is looked to as a model for developing biodiversity markets in other countries, she has been communicating the findings of her work globally to international stakeholders.
BNG currently applies to almost all major developments and is expected to apply to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects from November 2025. The biodiversity market arising from BNG is expected to generate ~5000 hectares of new habitat for wildlife annually, making a significant contribution to England's nature targets. Countries around the world are looking to adopt biodiversity markets using BNG as a model, with the proxy BNG metric being adapted for use in Scotland, the USA, Saudi Arabia, India, and Oman.
Professor Martin Maiden, Head of the Department of Biology, said: ‘The Biology Department is delighted that Natalie’s work on biodiversity net gain has been highly commended in this year’s MPLS Impact awards. Natalie is a current DPhil student in our Ecology and Conservation section, which has an exceptionally strong record in the translation of the highest quality research into policy at the national and international level. As humanity wrestles with the 21st century problems of climate change, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss, communication to and engagement with policy makers, such as that achieved by Natalie, is essential to guide the difficult decisions that lie ahead of us. Very many thanks and congratulations to Natalie and her colleagues for their contribution to these crucial activities.’