University of Birmingham researchers awarded 2025 Institute of Physics prizes

Three researchers from the University of Birmingham have been recognised by the Institute of Physics in their annual awards, alongside a team from University of Birmingham spin-out company, Delta-g.

The Institute of Physics (IOP) is the professional body and learned society for physics, and the leading body for practising physicists, in the UK and Ireland. Its annual awards proudly reflect the wide variety of people, places, organisations and achievements that make physics such an exciting discipline.

Professor Cristina Lazzeroni, School of Physics and Astronomy, was awarded the Silver Subject Medal – James Chadwick Medal and Prize for outstanding contributions to quark flavour physics via ground-breaking measurements of kaon decays with exquisite precision, which have had a major impact on the field.

Professor Lazzeroni, Leader of the Particle Physics Group at the University of Birmingham, was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society in 2025. As recognised by this award from the IOP, her work to date has made key contributions to the intricate study of kaon physics, including precise measurements of matter-antimatter asymmetry in kaon decays, and the first observation of the ultra-rare decay of a charged kaon to a pion and two neutrinos.

Professor Cristina Lazzeroni said:

"I feel honoured to receive the 2025 IoP Silver Chadwick Medal. Research in particle physics is very much a collaborative endeavour. I'm incredibly grateful to the many, many people who've been with me in this adventure."

Professor Mark Dennis, School of Physics and Astronomy, was awarded the Silver Subject Medal - John William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh Medal and Prize for pioneering theoretical work on structured light and topological optics, from knotted fields to polarisation in the daylight sky.

Professor Dennis, Professor of Theoretical Physics, is Head of the Theoretical Physics Group and Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training at the University of Birmingham. His award recognises wide-ranging research on the geometry and topology of structured light, developed in close collaboration with experimental groups worldwide. This work provides a unifying geometric framework to understand and control complex laser beams. His wider research spans topological physics, from condensed matter and protein knotting to studies of the cosmic microwave background.

Professor Mark Dennis said:

"Whether in the laboratory or in the natural world, light not only helps us see; by studying its twisted patterns, we can understand the geometry of waves and fields, the flow of energy and momentum, and even the structure of space itself. It's an honour to follow in the tradition of Rayleigh, who showed that everyday physics can still surprise us with nature's beauty."

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dr Lok Yiu (Kathy) Wu, School of Chemistry, was awarded the Bronze Early Career Medal - Jocelyn Bell Burnell Medal and Prize for outstanding contributions to the development of a novel magnetic radical filter device, and for ongoing support of women and underrepresented groups in physics.

Dr Wu is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Lehman group, part of the Interactions, Interfaces, and Sensing research grouping in the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham.

Dr Lok Yiu (Kathy) Wu said:

"I'm incredibly honoured to have been awarded the Jocelyn Bell Burnell Medal and Prize. It reflects the amazing team of people I have had the privilege to work with, and I'm excited to continue sharing our research while encouraging others to explore and contribute to the field."

In addition, a group of former PhD students in the School of Physics, Dr Andrew Lamb, Jonathan Winch, and Dr Benjamin Adams, received the 2025 Institute of Physics Clifford Paterson Medal & Prize. Now part of the technical team at University of Birmingham spin-out Delta.g, their award recognises exceptional early-career contributions to the application of physics in an industrial or commercial context.

The IOP Awards celebrate physicists at every stage of their career, from those just starting through to physicists at the peak of their careers, and those with a distinguished career behind them. They also recognise and celebrate companies that successfully apply physics and innovation, as well as employers who demonstrate their commitment to and contribution to scientific and engineering apprenticeship schemes.

Congratulating this year's Award winners, Institute of Physics President Professor Michele Dougherty CBE FRS FInstP FRAS FRSSAf said:

"On behalf of the Institute of Physics, I want to congratulate all of this year's award winners on the significant and positive impact they have made in their profession, be it as a researcher, teacher, industrialist, technician or apprentice, and I hope they are incredibly proud of their achievements.

"It is becoming more obvious that the opportunities generated by a career in physics are many and varied - and the potential our science has to transform our society and economy in the modern world is huge.

"I hope our winners appreciate they are playing an important role in this community, and know how proud we are to celebrate their successes - I hope their stories will help to inspire current and future generations of scientists."