The semiconductor physicist Richard Friend from the University of Cambridge has won the 2024 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize “for pioneering and enduring work on the fundamental electronic properties of molecular semiconductors and in their engineering development”. Presented by the Institute of Physics (IOP), which publishes Physics World, the international award is given annually for “world-leading contributions to physics”.
Friend was born in 1953 in London, UK. He completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge in 1979 under the supervision of Abe Yoffe and remained at Cambridge becoming a full professor in 1995. Friend’s research has led to a deeper understanding of the electronic properties of molecular semiconductors having in the 1980s pioneered the fabrication of thin-film molecular semiconductor devices that were later developed to support field-effect transistor circuits.
When it was discovered that semiconducting polymers could be used for light-emitting diodes (LEDs), Friend founded Cambridge Display Technology in 1992 to develop polymer LED displays. In 2000 he also co-founded Plastic Logic to advance polymer transistor circuits for e-paper displays.
As well as the 2024 Newton Medal and Prize, Friend’s other honours include the IOP’s Katherine Burr Blodgett Medal and Prize in 2009 and in 2010 he shared the Millennium Technology Prize for the development of plastic electronics. He was also knighted for services to physics in the 2003 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
“I am immensely proud of this award and the recognition of our work,” notes Friend. “Our Cambridge group helped set the framework for the field of molecular semiconductors, showing new ways to improve how these materials can separate charges and emit light.”
Friend notes that he is “not done just yet” and is currently working on molecular semiconductors to improve the efficiency of LEDs.
Innovating and inspiring
Friend’s honour formed part of the IOP’s wider 2024 awards, which recognize everyone from early-career scientists and teachers to technicians and subject specialists.
Other winners include Laura Herz from the University of Oxford, who receives the Faraday Prize “for pioneering advances in the photophysics of next-generation semiconductors, accomplished through innovative spectroscopic experiments”. Rebecca Dewey from the University of Nottingham, meanwhile, receives the Phillips Award “for contributions to equality, diversity and inclusion in Institute of Physics activities, including promoting, updating and improving the accessibility of the I am a Physicist Girlguiding Badge, and engaging with British Sign Language users”. Astrophysicist James Binney bags 2023 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize
In a statement, IOP president Keith Burnett congratulated all the winners, adding that they represent “some of the most innovative and inspiring” work that is happening in physics.
“Today’s world faces many challenges which physics will play an absolutely fundamental part in addressing, whether its securing the future of our economy or the transition to sustainable energy production and net zero,” adds Burnett. “Our award winners are in the vanguard of that work and each one has made a significant and positive impact in their profession. Whether as a researcher, teacher, industrialist, technician or apprentice, I hope they are incredibly proud of their achievements.”
