The prestigious awards are presented on behalf of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics.
Formed in 1972, the UK Neutron Scattering Group (NSG) supports scientists interested in the use of neutron scattering. Their prizes, presented on behalf of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics, support early-career researchers who have demonstrated excellence in the field.
Dr Adam Michalchuk, Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry in the School of Chemistry, has been awarded the 2025 BTM Willis Prize for "his ambitious, interdisciplinary research pioneering a theoretical basis for the mechanochemical reactivity of energetic materials, using inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopy, high-pressure neutron diffraction and advanced ab initio simulation."
Dr Michalchuk's research group is focused on understanding the atomistic origins of mechanically driven transformations in and between solids. He has recently published articles in leading journals, including Chemical Communications and Chemical Science.
Named in honour of Professor B. Terrence (Terry) M. Willis, the BTM Willis Prize is awarded annually to recognise outstanding work in the application or development of neutron scattering to a significant problem in the physical sciences, life science or engineering by an early-career researcher. Professor Willis pioneered the development and teaching of neutron scattering in the UK and was a founder of the UK Neutron Scattering Group (NSG).
The Don McKenzie Paul Thesis Prize has been awarded to Dr Jennifer Graham for "her groundbreaking contributions to the study of frustrated magnets using neutron polarisation analysis combined with novel data analysis methodologies and synthesis techniques, and especially for her discovery of a spiral spin liquid phase." Dr Graham completed her PhD at Birmingham in Dr Lucy Clark’s Group, also in the School of Chemistry, in 2023. Dr Clark is also a BTM Willis Prize winner, awarded in 2019 for her outstanding research in the field of quantum materials.
Jennifer’s PhD was co-funded by the Institut Laue-Langevin in France. She is continuing her career at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland.
The Don McKenzie Paul Thesis Prize is awarded biennially in recognition of an outstanding PhD thesis in which the use or development of neutron scattering is instrumental in addressing a current scientific challenge and is named in honour of Professor Don McKenzie Paul (1953 – 2019), a leading condensed matter scientist and research leader in neutron scattering sciences.
Both Adam and Jennifer will give prize talks in recognition of their awards. Adam delivered a plenary lecture during the UK Neutron & Muon Science and User Meeting (NMSUM) 2025 at the University of Warwick on 18 March. Jennifer will present at the Theoretical and Experimental Magnetism Meeting at Coesner's House in June 2025.
Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry
Profile for Dr Adam Michalchuk, Chemistry, University of Birmingham
