Professor Kai Bongs, Head of the Midlands Ultracold Atom Research Centre at the University of Birmingham, received a Founders’ Awards for Excellence at the Chancellor’s Dinner held on Thursday 13 July.
Professor Bongs (pictured centre) received the Josiah Mason award for Business Advancement in recognition of his leadership of the Quantum Technology Hub. Established in 2014 with an approximately £80m investment from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and industry, the hub has grown substantially and is an exemplar for industrial engagement.
The Founders’ Awards are named after some of Birmingham’s most influential benefactors, and demonstrate that their vision of ground-breaking research with local, national and global impact is as alive today as it was when the University was founded in 1900.
The Josiah Mason Award is named after the industrialist and philanthropist, and the founder of Mason Science College which preceded the University. The awards were presented by Professor Alice Roberts, Professor of Public Engagement in Science and Professor Sir David Eastwood, Vice Chancellor at University of Birmingham.
Three other academics from the College of Medical and Dental Sciences also received Founders' Awards. The other awards were the Joseph Chamberlain Award for Academic Advancement, the Charles Beale Award for Policy Advancement, and the Aston Webb Award for Outstanding Early-Career Academic.