Three Indian-Origin Researchers Win Blavatnik Awards For Young Scientists

February 4, 2024

Three Indian-origin researchers are among nine scientists named recipients of the prestigious Blavatnik Awards For Young Scientists in the UK. The awards recognize research that is transforming medicine, technology, and our understanding of the world across three categories: Chemical Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Life Sciences.

The recipients, including Professors Rahul R Nair, Mehul Malik, and Tanmay Bharat, will be honored at a black-tie gala dinner and award ceremony in London on February 27, 2024. They will receive grants totaling 480,000 pounds.

Rahul R Nair: Novel Membranes For Efficient Separation

Rahul R Nair, a materials physicist at The University of Manchester, was named Laureate in Physical Sciences & Engineering for developing novel membranes based on two-dimensional (2D) materials. These will enable energy-efficient separation and filtration technologies.

Mehul Malik: Quantum Communications Breakthrough

Mehul Malik was recognized for advancing quantum communications through groundbreaking techniques that harness high-dimensional entanglement, a complex quantum physics phenomenon. Malik’s innovations enable the normally fragile entanglement to survive long distances and harsh conditions. This lays the foundation for noise-robust and high-capacity quantum networks that securely transmit large amounts of information encoded on individual photons. Malik has a PhD from the University of Rochester in New York.

Tanmay Bharat: Atomic-Level Imaging of Microbial Structures

Tanmay Bharat, PhD, from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Life Sciences), was recognized for developing cutting-edge techniques in electron cryotomography (cryo-ET). This creates atomic-level pictures of cell-surface molecules produced by microscopic bacteria and archaea as they form multicellular communities including biofilms and microbiomes. Bharat’s work has important biomedical implications, as most pathogenic bacteria infect humans through biofilm formation. It also has implications for understanding the dynamics of cell-to-cell interactions that led to the evolution of multicellular life on Earth.

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