Benjamin’s awards include the Institute of Physics Computational Physics Best PhD Award, the American Chemical Society Best Theoretical Chemistry PhD Award, the American Physical Society Best Computational Physics PhD Award, and the prestigious Nottingham Prize for Surface Science.
Benjamin completed his PhD with Professor Angelos Michaelides (The ICE Group). His thesis, entitled It's Not S(KZ)CAM! Accurate Surface Chemistry at Low Cost, introduces a new computational framework for accurately modelling the surfaces of ionic materials at low cost, enabling more reliable computer-based materials discovery. His work, published in leading journals such as JACS and Nature Chemistry, has been widely praised for its innovation and impact.
Reflecting on the recognition, Benjamin said: “I am honoured to have been recognized for the work that myself, Angelos and our collaborators have put during the past four years towards developing accurate computational methods for modelling surfaces.”
Professor Angelos Michaelides said: “I am fortunate to have many excellent students, collaborators and colleagues. It is always nice when they receive awards. It is especially nice when it is a student that I’ve seen flourish and grow into a top-class scientist. Well done, Benjamin – the awards are richly deserved!”
The Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry is extremely proud of Benjamin’s achievements and congratulates him on this outstanding success.
The PhD prizes awarded:
1. Computational Physics Group Annual PhD Thesis Prize (Institute of Physics) – Awarded for significant contributions to the advancement of computational physics
2. Nicholas Metropolis Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Work in Computational Physics (American Physics Society) – Awarded in recognition of doctoral thesis research of outstanding quality and achievement in computational physics
3. Graduate Award in Theoretical Chemistry (American Chemical Society) – Awarded for outstanding graduate research in theoretical physical chemistry.
4. Wayne B. Nottingham Prize (Physical Electronics Conference) – Awarded for the best student paper and presentation at the Physical Electronic Conference
