Professor Ekhard Salje has been presented with an Agricola Medal for his leading research into applied mineralogy at a special awards ceremony in Hanover.
Professor Ekhard Salje has been presented with an Agricola Medal for his leading research into applied mineralogy at a special awards ceremony in Hanover.
The German Mineralogical Society gave the medal in recognition of Professor Salje’s contribution to the industrial use of mineral research.
Salje’s work has focused on the microstructures found in minerals and looked for practical applications of his discoveries.
His research into the effects of radiation on minerals such as zircon, for example, has led to the development of man-made materials suitable for the long-term storage of nuclear waste.
A study of how atoms move through mineral surfaces has had implications for microchip production, with the detection of lines etched into the surfaces of incredibly thin layers of material just 2-4 nanometres thick.
“It is the purpose of applied mineralogy to learn from nature how phenomena such as fast transport in minerals and the destruction of minerals by nuclear elements work and apply these results to man-made materials,” Ekhard Salje explained.
The Agricola Medal for Applied Mineralogy was founded in 1975 and is awarded annually. Professor Salje, President of Clare Hall and Head of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge is the first academic at a British institution to be given such an honour.
“I am delighted and honoured by the award of the Agricola medal,” Professor Salje continued.
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