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Harrison memorial medalDr J. P. K. DoyeDistinguished for his contributions to the statistical mechanics of atomic clusters and polymer crystal growth.Jonathan Doye graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1992 and after a year away from science, returned to Cambridge in 1993 to carry out a PhD on the structure, thermodynamics and dynamics of atomic clusters under the supervision of Dr David Wales. On completion of his PhD, he took up a post-doctoral position with Professor Daan Frenkel at the FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics in Amsterdam to work on the mechanism of polymer crystallization. Jonathan returned to Cambridge in 1998 to take up his present position of the Sir Alan Wilson Research Fellowship at Emmanuel College. In his research he has applied state-of-the-art computer simulation techniques to probe the behaviour of clusters and polymers at an atomic level. Often, he uses minimal models that capture the basic physical and chemical ingredients of a system in order to pin down conclusively the fundamental causes of a behaviour. This has led, for example, to new insights into how the form of the interatomic interactions determine the structure of clusters and the stability of the bulk liquid phase, what topographical feature of a potential energy surface make global optimization difficult and how these can be overcome; and how the thickness of lamellar polymer crystals is dynamically selected as they grow. This citation appeared in Chemistry in Britain, June 2001, p68. The criteria for the award and a list of past winners can be found at the Royal Society of Chemistry. |