Max Planck Institute to award Miodownik medal for science communication

17th August 2018

Plaudits continue to flow for UCL Professor of Materials and Society, Mark Miodownik, as the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry is set to award him their 2018 Science Communication Medal.

The Göttingen Max Planck Institute and Göttingen University Science Communication Medal is awarded annually to scientists who have been particularly successful in communicating outstanding research results to the wider public.

Reacting to the announcement of his award Miodownik said, “I’m delighted to be honoured by the institute with this medal. As always, I have to share this success with my UCL Engineering colleagues, whose support makes this work possible.”

Miodownik was already set to present during the prestigious lecture series “Wissenschaft beim Göttinger Literaturherbst” (Science at the Göttingen Literature Festival) in Lower Saxonly, Germany in October, with a talk “Wunderstoffe” on “the miracles that make up our civilization”.

Now the materials scientist, broadcaster and author is to be honoured by the Institute during the festival for his tireless public science work, notably through the critically acclaimed and multi-award winning public science book ‘Stuff Matters’, along with public talks, newspaper articles and accessible science programmes on BBC Television.

Liquid shortlisted by Royal Society

Honoured earlier this year with the Royal Society’s Michael Faraday Prize and Lecture, Mark’s forthcoming book “Liquid – the delightful and dangerous substance that flow through our lives” was recently nominated by the society for their Insight Investment Science Book prize. Two other UCL colleagues’ books have been similarly shortlisted; Dr Hannah Fry (for “Hello World”) and Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore (for “Inventing Ourselves: the secret life of the teenage brain”).

Former winners of the Max Planck Institute’s Science Communication Medal are David J. C. MacKay, Harald Lesch, Metin Tolan and Douglas R. Hofstadter.

UCL Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering Sciences

Max Planck Institute to award Miodownik medal for science communication