Professor Ian Robinson of the LCN has been awarded the 2015 Gregori Aminoff Prize in Crystallography.
The prize, conferred since 1979 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences – the body that awards the Nobel prizes – recognises a documented, individual contribution in the field of crystallography, including areas concerned with the dynamics of the formation and dissolution of crystal structures. In its citation, the Academy highlighted Professor Robinson’s development of diffraction techniques for the investigation of surfaces and nanomaterials.
The citation continued: “Professor Ian Robinson has made a number of pioneering contributions in the field of X-ray diffraction, which is a method used to determine the three-dimensional structure of a crystal. He is in the forefront when it comes to utilising the opportunities provided by increasingly advanced synchrotron light sources and free-electron lasers in the study of the electronic and structural properties of solids.”
The prize will be officially awarded at a ceremony in Stockholm in March 2015 coinciding with the Academy’s annual meeting. In addition Professor Robinson has been invited by the Academy to give a prize lecture of scientists and students.
On the award of the prize, he commented: “I am deeply honoured to be recognised by this award, especially in the “International year of crystallography” and especially proud to join the company of extremely distinguished previous winners. Crystallography is a subject that is very much alive within a wide range of disciplines active at UCL, including physics, chemistry, biology, earth and materials sciences.”