The Institute of
Physics (IOP) has announced the winners of their medals and prizes for
2016, in recognition of outstanding work by physicists in research,
leadership, outreach and engagement.
Sixteen
medal winners have been announced, including Dr Alexandra Olyaya-Castro
(UCL Physics & Astronomy) for her contributions to the theory of
quantum effects in biomolecular systems. The award particularly
recognises her work on the understanding of exciton-vibration
interactions and the emergence of nontrivial quantum behaviour in
photosynthetic complexes.
President of the IOP, Professor Roy
Sambles, said of all those winning awards this year: “The IOP Awards
recognise outstanding individuals and teams within our physics
community, not only to celebrate their creativity, hard work and
dedication but also to inspire others to strive to achieve excellence in
what they do.”
Dr Alexandra Olaya-Castro has played a central
international role in the field of quantum biology, an emergent
interdisciplinary research area aimed at understanding whether
quantum-mechanical phenomena are important for the function of
biomolecules.
By making use of modern theoretical quantum
science, which focuses on identifying quantum-enhanced performance,
together with techniques in physical chemistry and biology, she has
pioneered a new generation of theoretical approaches for understanding
quantum effects in photosynthesis.
She has since lead research
at UCL to push the boundaries of our understanding of the quantum
dynamics of electronic excitations in the initial stages of
photosynthesis, and the influence of quantum coherence.
The
conceptual importance of her work has been widely recognised both in the
UK and worldwide, and the research that Olaya-Castro is leading will be
showcased at the UK’s Royal Society Science Summer exhibition 2016.
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