Professor Andrew Goodwin has been announced as one of the first recipients of the Royal Society Faraday Discovery Fellowships, prestigious long-term awards to support exceptional mid-career research leaders in the UK. Only seven academics were selected in total, from more than 600 initial applications, and Prof Goodwin is among three of these at the University of Oxford.
As a materials chemist, Prof Goodwin designs solid materials that have useful functions. A key focus for his group is using disorder as a design strategy. ‘In many materials, disorder isn’t random; it follows hidden patterns that can actually enhance performance,’ he said. ‘We see this in systems like batteries, magnets, and even natural materials such as shells.’
His Faraday project will explore materials with “responsive disorder”, where the type of disorder changes when triggered by a stimulus such as heat, pressure, or electricity. ‘Many advanced technologies rely on materials that can switch between different states,’ he said. ‘While traditional materials switch states through changes in crystal structure, disordered materials must follow different rules—offering new possibilities for transformation. We will study several types of disorder found in things such as glasses and polymers, with potential applications in areas like computing. Working with a visual artist, we will also explore new ways of representing these different states.’
Prof Goodwin said:
I am thrilled and honoured to receive this prestigious grant, which very much builds on the achievements, creativity, and insight of the many talented students, postdocs, and collaborators with whom I have worked over the years. This a truly precious opportunity to tackle some very deep questions in our field.
The Faraday Discovery Fellowships, supported by a fund from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, provide selected researchers with grants of up to £8 million over 10 years to pursue high-quality original research and develop world-leading research groups in the UK.
Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, said: ‘This exciting first cohort of Royal Society Faraday Discovery Fellowship fellows are using cutting-edge techniques to explore questions at the frontiers of human knowledge…These 10-year fellowships give researchers space to pursue new knowledge, build their research groups and develop close collaborations around the world that will ensure the UK continues to develop and attract the next generation of scientific talent and bring benefits to the whole country.’
Lord Vallance, UK Science Minister, said: ‘Turbo-charging our world-class institutions with the very best research talent will be critical to unlocking breakthroughs that could help protect our food chains, put AI to work in the economy, and tackle climate change. That's why DSIT has backed the Royal Society with £250 million in long-term funding to support the work of mid-career researchers who are at the top of their game.’
You can read more about all three Oxford recipients of these awards here.
