Professor Andrew Goodwin awarded Royal Society Faraday Discovery Fellowship
The Faraday Discovery Fellowships, supported by a fund from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, provide exceptional mid-career researchers with grants of up to £8 million over 10 years to pursue high-quality original research and develop world-leading research groups in the UK. More than 600 initial applications were made for these prestigious Fellowships, with only seven researchers ultimately chosen.
" This exciting first cohort of Royal Society Faraday Discovery Fellowship fellows are using cutting-edge techniques to explore questions at the frontiers of human knowledge…These 10-year fellowships give researchers space to pursue new knowledge, build their research groups and develop close collaborations around the world that will ensure the UK continues to develop and attract the next generation of scientific talent and bring benefits to the whole country. " Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society
Professor Andrew Goodwin was one of three Oxford researchers awarded a Faraday Discovery Fellowship for 2025. As a materials chemist, Professor Goodwin designs solid materials that have useful functions. A key focus for his group is using disorder as a design strategy. ‘In many materials, disorder isn’t random; it follows hidden patterns that can actually enhance performance,’ he said. ‘We see this in systems like batteries, magnets, and even natural materials like shells.’
His Faraday project will explore materials with “responsive disorder”, where the type of disorder changes when triggered by a stimulus such as heat, pressure, or electricity. ‘Many advanced technologies rely on materials that can switch between different states,’ he said. ‘While traditional materials switch states through changes in crystal structure, disordered materials must follow different rules—offering new possibilities for transformation. We will study several types of disorder found in things such as glasses and polymers, with potential applications in areas like computing. Working with a visual artist, we will also explore new ways of representing these different states.’
" I am thrilled and honoured to receive this prestigious grant, which very much builds on the achievements, creativity, and insight of the many talented students, postdocs, and collaborators with whom I have worked over the years. This a truly precious opportunity to tackle some very deep questions in our field. " Professor Andrew Goodwin