Dr Patrick Heighway has received the European XFEL Young Scientist Award. The award recognises Dr Heighway’s pivotal role in measuring X-ray diffraction at extreme pressures and temperatures at the HED-HiBEF instrument.
The European X-ray Free-Electron Laser facility is an X-ray research laser facility in Germany. The 3.4 km long European XFEL generates extremely intense X-ray flashes used by researchers from all over the world to map atomic details of viruses, film chemical reactions, and study processes in the interior of planets.
Dr Heighway’s work combines experimental data with molecular dynamics simulations to provide critical insight into the nature of release pathways of shock compressed materials, kinematics of plasticity, and the fundamental interaction of grains in compressed polycrystalline materials. This work is important for many different fields, including geophysics, fundamental material science, shock and plasma physics, the search for novel materials, and understanding pathways to fusion energy.
The European XFEL Young Scientist Award recognises young researchers who are at the beginning of their career but are already making outstanding contributions to research at the European XFEL.
Dr Heighway was nominated for the award by members of the large international team who performed the first DiPOLE experiment at the European XFEL, including academics from Oxford, York, Edinburgh, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States. Professor Justin Wark, who led the nomination, and introduced Dr Heighway at the award ceremony, praised his achievements saying, ‘Paddy is hugely deserving of this award. At an early stage in his career he has not only become one of the most accomplished scientists in this field, but he has shown wisdom and initiative that belie his years, playing a key leadership role in a complex and large experimental campaign that has been years in the planning.’
‘I am delighted to have received the European XFEL Young Scientist Award,’ comments Dr Heighway. ‘I would like to thank in particular Professor Wark for nominating me and for giving me the opportunity to lead a team at the commissioning experiment of the DiPOLE laser. I am also grateful to the commissioning team and the wider DiPOLE community for the huge amount of support they have given me, both during and after the experiment.’