IMDEA Materials Director, Professor José Manuel Torralba was on hand in London recently to receive the annual Ivor Jenkins award from the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3).

And Prof. Torralba wasn’t the only award-winner with an IMDEA Materials connection on the night, as Professor Judith Driscoll from Cambridge University was honoured with IOM3’s Griffith Medal 

Professor Driscoll is a member of IMDEA Materials’ Scientific Council whose most recent work has focused heavily on applying her expertise in oxide thin films for a variety of energy applications, as well as in the fast-evolving field of neuromorphic computing.

“All academics work extremely hard, we’re like monks really in the way that we are devoted to our cause,” Prof. Driscoll told IMDEA Materials when asked how she felt to receive such a prestigious recognition of her ongoing work. “When you work so hard, it’s always nice to feel that what you’ve done has been acknowledged in some way, because you never quite know.”

“Sometimes you wonder while you’re doing all this work, does anyone actually care? So, it’s very nice to get that confirmation sometimes that yes, what you’re doing is important and it is being noticed.”

The Griffith Medal is presented for distinguished work that has made or is making a notable contribution to any branch of material science.

It is named in honour of English engineer Alan Arnold Griffith, best known for his work on metal fatigue and one of the first scientists to develop a strong theoretical basis for the jet engine.

The Ivor Jenkins Medal, meanwhile, is the highest international recognition in the field of powder metallurgy and is presented in recognition of a significant contribution that has enhanced the scientific, industrial, or technological understanding of materials processing or component production using particulate materials.  A significant contribution in management in the particulate engineering field is also recognized.

In receiving the award, Professor Torralba highlighted the work of his colleagues at both the Carlos III University of Madrid and within his Sustainable Powder Technologies research group at IMDEA Materials.

“These kinds of awards encourage me to keep working hard in the future, but they are also a good reference for the people who are working with me in order to be recognized in some way,” he said. “Because science is not a matter of one single person, it’s a matter of a group of people who work together.”

Professor Torralba is only the second Spaniard to receive this recognition after Dr. César Molins, the current Director General of the IMDEA Materials International Advisory Board, in 1998.