We are pleased to announce that Prof Markus Kraft (Director) and Dr Jethro Akroyd (Principal Engineer) received the Institute of Physics Ricardo Award for their paper: ‘Exploring the internal structure of soot particles using nanoindentation: A reactive molecular dynamics study’.

This award recognises significant technological advances and contributions to the advancement of understanding at a fundamental level in the field of combustion physics.

The study, by Dr Laura Pascazio, Dr Jacob Martin, Dr Kimberly Bowal, Dr Jethro Akroyd, Prof Markus Kraft delves into the intricate internal structure of soot particles. The researchers were able to simulate nanoindentation (a type of hardness test) techniques combined with reactive molecular dynamics to gain new insights into the composition and mechanical properties of soot. This breakthrough contributes to a deeper understanding of the behaviour of soot particles in combustion processes.

“I’m deeply grateful for this recognition and would like to thank my co-authors and the Institute of Physics and the Combustion Physics Group for this honour. We are looking forward to more ground-breaking research in the future!” said Prof Kraft.

Read the full paper here.