Northern universities sweep the prestigious Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists

Three scientists from Newcastle University, University of Nottingham, and University of Leeds were crowned Laureates of the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Christopher Stewart (Life Sciences), Prof. Liam Ball (Chemical Sciences), and Dr. Benjamin Mills (Physical Sciences and Engineering) will each receive £100,000 in unrestricted funds from the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences.

The awards show the role North has in scientific progress, with some of the biggest breakthroughs in AI, machine learning, and healthcare coming from the region.

The three Laureates are tackling some of the most complex and pressing issues in science and society: infant mortality, green manufacturing, and predicting long-term climate change.

Since their establishment, the Awards have recognised over 70 honourees from more than 100 research institutions. To date, the Blavatnik Awards have contributed more than £3.1 million to UK research.

Christopher Stewart, Newcastle University, says: “Being named laureate for the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK is beyond my wildest dreams. The list of previous laureates in the Life Sciences category is incredible and I am excited, and still in shock, to now be named alongside them.”

Benjamin J. W. Mills, University of Leeds, says: “Receiving this award is a great honour and it gives me confidence that the new area of research we are building in ‘Earth Evolution science’ is gaining momentum around the world [...] The University of Leeds is one of the top institutions in the world for conducting this research and I have benefited greatly from their University Academic Fellowship scheme, which afforded me the time and freedom to develop this research field, as well as the close friendships and support networks across the School of Earth and Environment.”

Liam Ball, Nottingham University, says: “It's an unbelievable honour to receive this award, which is a huge recognition of the hard work, support, and enthusiasm of so many people: my group, my colleagues, collaborators and mentors, and the incredible support staff here at Nottingham.”

The announcement was made at a black-tie gala, held on Tuesday evening at Kensington Palace, hosted by Sir Leonard and Lady Emily Blavatnik and presented by Professor Shitij Kapur, Vice-Chancellor and President of King’s College London.

Each Laureate shared their prize-winning research with the country’s leading figures in research, academia, business, and the arts.