Novoselov

Novoselov
Name	Novoselov
Birth date	1974
Birth place	Nizhyn, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
Nationality	Russian Federation
Field	Physics
Alma mater	Moscow State University, University of Manchester
Doctoral advisor	Andre Geim
Known for	Graphene
Awards	Nobel Prize in Physics, Royal Society

Novoselov is a physicist noted for pioneering work on two-dimensional materials, especially graphene. He studied and worked in institutions such as Moscow State University and the University of Manchester and collaborated with figures including Andre Geim, leading to breakthroughs recognized by bodies like the Royal Society and the Nobel Committee. His research bridged experimental condensed matter physics at venues including the Institute for Microelectronics Technology and the National Graphene Institute.

Early life and education

Born in Nizhyn within the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, he completed early schooling during the late period of the Soviet Union and pursued higher education at Moscow State University, where contemporaries included students who later joined institutes such as Lebedev Physical Institute and Ioffe Institute. He undertook postgraduate work under advisors connected to laboratories at the Institute of Physics and Technology and subsequently moved to the University of Manchester for doctoral and postdoctoral collaboration with researchers from institutions like University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and visiting groups from Columbia University and MIT. During this period he interacted with researchers affiliated with centers such as the European Research Council and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Scientific career

He began his professional career with positions at research centers including the Institute for Microelectronics Technology and joined the experimental condensed matter community alongside scholars from Cambridge University and Harvard University. At the University of Manchester he established a research group that collaborated with teams from Bell Labs, IBM, and the Max Planck Society. His collaborations frequently involved researchers from ETH Zurich, University of California, Berkeley, and the National Physical Laboratory. He participated in international conferences like the APS March Meeting, ICM2006, and workshops organized by the Royal Society and the European Physical Society.

Research contributions and discoveries

His most celebrated contribution is the isolation and characterization of graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice first explored theoretically by earlier work on two-dimensional crystals and by researchers linked to Philip R. Wallace and P. R. Wallace's electronic band theory. The experimental technique employed simple tools in a manner reminiscent of DIY methods used by teams at Bell Labs and IBM Research, enabling transport measurements that revealed phenomena predicted by theories from groups such as Nikolai Bogoliubov-era condensed matter theorists and later experimentalists like those at Columbia University. Measurements demonstrated relativistic-like charge carriers consistent with the Dirac equation in two dimensions, corroborating theoretical frameworks developed at institutions like Princeton University and Stanford University.

Beyond graphene, his group investigated a family of two-dimensional materials including boron nitride, layered transition metal dichalcogenides, and heterostructures that combine sheets of graphene with materials studied by teams at University of California, Santa Barbara and University of Texas at Austin. This work opened pathways to research in quantum Hall effects related to discoveries at Bell Labs and topological phases connected to theoretical advances from Microsoft Research and Perimeter Institute. Collaborations extended to applied research in photonics and nanoelectronics with partners at Samsung, Nokia, and startups emerging from Cambridge and Manchester incubators.

He contributed to experimental techniques for device fabrication and electron transport characterization, building on instrumentation standards from CERN-affiliated labs and cryogenic facilities similar to those at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. His team published on carrier mobility, Klein tunneling consistent with predictions by theorists at Landau Institute, and mechanical properties resonant with studies at California Institute of Technology.

Awards and honors

His work has been recognized with major prizes including the Nobel Prize in Physics (shared with Andre Geim), the Royal Society's Copley Medal and election to fellowships such as Fellow of the Royal Society and memberships in national academies like the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences (honorary connections). He received awards from organizations including the European Physical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and industry recognitions from IEEE and Royal Academy of Engineering-linked prizes. Honorary degrees and visiting professorships followed invitations from universities such as Harvard University, University of Cambridge, and ETH Zurich.

Personal life and legacy

He maintains connections with research centers in Moscow, Manchester, and international collaborations spanning Japan, United States, and Germany. His legacy includes spawning startups and consortia focused on commercialization of two-dimensional materials, with ties to innovation hubs like Silicon Valley and Cambridge Science Park. Influential students and postdocs from his group have joined faculties at institutions including University of California, Berkeley, Imperial College London, and Nanyang Technological University. The broader scientific impact traces to developments in materials science curricula at universities such as MIT and University of Tokyo and to industrial research programs at entities like Samsung and IBM.

Category:Physicists Category:Nobel laureates in Physics