IRL researcher honoured for contribution

IRL high-temperature superconductor researcher Dr Grant Williams has been honoured with a prestigious science award - the Hector Medal.

Dr Williams, one of New Zealand’s foremost scientists working in materials research, was awarded the medal for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of the physical sciences, as part of the Royal Society of New Zealand 2010 Research Honours event in Christchurch.

The award acknowledges his internationally recognised work on the chemical and electronic structure of materials, including his application of nuclear magnetic resonance techniques to the understanding of high-temperature superconductors and related materials, that may be able to deliver a suite of new devices with many possible applications in the electricity, transportation, medical, infrastructure reliability, communications and security sectors.

Another area of research for Dr Williams is new materials for magnetic sensing, radiation detection and imaging, fibre-optic communications and optics-based imaging and sensing. He is currently developing a portable fibre-optic radiation sensor for medical, security and radiation protection applications and working on other, proof-of-concept devices.

Dr Williams says he is delighted to receive recognition in this year’s New Zealand Research Honours. “This is a research area where IRL and New Zealand are world leaders and it is an honour to have our achievements acknowledged.”

IRL CEO Shaun Coffey said, “Dr Williams’ outstanding work has played a crucial role in the enabling of HTS technology to move from blue skies research into a transformative technology estimated to be worth billions of dollars in the next decade.”