Cath Davies wins prestigious Papin Prize

Henry Royce Institute and Photon Science Institute (PSI) Technical Operations Manager Cath Davies has been awarded a Papin Prize – the UK's only award dedicated to celebrating technical excellence in Higher Education and research.

Cath is a winner in the Contribution to Infrastructure category, which recognises a member of technical staff who has made a significant contribution to day-to-day infrastructure to support research and/or teaching.

She is responsible for two highly complex buildings that house a breadth of state-of-the-art technical facilities, from vibration-controlled spaces, to humidity-controlled rooms, as well as laboratories equipped to support wide-ranging research related to biomaterials through to next-generation fuels. She also manages a large and varied team of expert technical staff who operate a >£100m suite of equipment open to both academia and industry users.

Cath, alongside colleague Dan Tate, Technical Project Manager, and members of the wider facilities team, worked tirelessly to oversee the Royce Hub building fit-out, as well as the transfer of existing equipment and the delivery and commissioning of £45m of new state-of-the-art equipment.

Under Cath's leadership, the expert technical team continued to progress all of this during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring the Royce Hub facilities can operate efficiently and effectively, providing users with a high quality and safe experience.

Hundreds of individuals and teams were nominated for the year's prestigious awards, with 61 technicians shortlisted for an acclaimed Papin Prize across ten categories. The Papin Prizes are named after Denis Papin, a 17th century technician who invented the steam digester and was one of the first technicians to publish in his own name.

Cath received her award earlier this month at the UK Higher Education Technicians Summit 2021.