University Professor awarded IOM3 Platinum medal

Professor Robert Young from the National Graphene Institute and School of Materials has been awarded the Platinum Medal from the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).

The medal is one of the Institute’s Premier Awards and aims to acknowledge individuals for their outstanding contributions to materials science, technology and industry, nationally or internationally.

Professor Young is one of the world’s foremost materials scientists and this has been recognised through his elections as a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Academy of Europe.

His innovative research has transformed our understanding of the relationships between structure and mechanical properties in polymers and composites.

He has introduced of a number of revolutionary techniques that have given a completely new insight into the micromechanics of deformation in fibres and composites. In particular, he has pioneered the use of Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of deformation processes that take place in fibres at the molecular level.

Most recently he has demonstrated that this approach can be extended to analysis of the deformation of nanocomposites reinforced by carbon nanotubes or graphene and other 2D materials, and proven that continuum mechanics is still applicable at the nanoscale in these systems.

“I am very pleased to have been awarded the Platinum Medal by the IOM3. I have now been active in research for 50 years and had the privilege of being able to work upon a number of exciting new materials. It has been a particular pleasure to be able to contribute to the research upon graphene in The University of Manchester over recent years.”

Between 2004 and 2009 he was the founding Head of the School of Materials in The University of Manchester, which is now the largest university materials department in the UK and the focus of major UK materials research initiatives such as the Henry Royce Institute.

He also chaired the Materials Panel in the 1996 and 2001 Research Assessment Exercises for the HEFCE. Furthermore he is co-author of the highly-successful, best-selling textbook, “Introduction to Polymers”, the third edition of which was published in 2011.

Two alumni from the School of Materials also received awards. Dr Kate Thornton CEng CSci MIMMM received a Silver Medal and Dr Rachael Ambury CEng CSci FIMMM, who won the Robert Perrin Award.

The award was presented to Professor Young at the IOM3 150^th Anniversary Gala dinner at the Science Museum, on 11 July 2019.