Woodruff Thesis Prize: Thin Films and Surfaces Group
This annual prize is for the best PhD thesis by a student member of the group. It was established to encourage and recognise high quality research and scientific writing in the field of thin films and surface science.
The prize is £250.
When open, later in 2023, submissions should include:
- a completed nomination form submitted to the chair of the group (Dr Karen Syres, [email protected])
- a PDF (electronic) copy of the final version of the thesis, including minor corrections; and
- a small section that reflects the highlights of the thesis.
Winners
2022
Dr Fabian Thiemann, University College London. For Properties of Low-dimensional Materials Explored with Machine Learning Potentials.
2021
Dr Alan Bowman, University of Cambridge. For Materials, methods and concepts for 21st-century solar cells.
2020
Dr Mohammed Azzouzi, Imperial College London. For Voltage Losses and Recombination Mechanisms in Organic Solar Cells.
2019
Dr Veronika Sunko, University of St Andrews School of Physics and Astronomy. For Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy of delafossite metals.
2018
Dr Peter Townsend, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge. For Diffusion of light adsorbates on transition metal surfaces.
2017
Dr Thomas James Whittles, University of Liverpool. For Electronic Characterisation of Earth-Abundant Sulphides for Solar Photovoltaics.
2016
Dr Alexander Rosu-Finsen, Heriot-Watt University. For Icy Dust Grains in the Interstellar Medium: Their Properties and Impact.
2015
Joint winner: Dr Demian Marchione, Heriot-Watt University. For Thermal and Non-Thermal Processes of Simple Molecules on Model Interstellar Ices.
Joint winner: Dr Hannah Aitchison, University of St Andrews. For Self-Assembly of Monolayers of Aromatic Carboxylic Acid Molecules on Silver and Copper Modified Gold Surfaces at the Liquid-Solid Interface.
2014
Dr Ada Della Pia, Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick. For Using Electrostatic Interactions to Control Supramolecular Self-Assembly at Surfaces.
2013
Dr Catherine Doyle, School of Physical Sciences, and National Centre for Sensor Research (NCSR), Dublin City University. For An Investigation of the Structural and Electronic Properties of Covalently Bonded Molecular Networks on Metal Surfaces Formed Through Debromination Reactions.
2012
Dr David Duncan, Department of Physics, University of Warwick. For Adsorbate structure determination using energy scanned photoelectron diffraction.
2011
Dr Natalia Garcia-Rey, Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool. For Interaction of a Copper Surface with Light: Plasmons, Electrons & Molecular Vibrations.