August 28, 2024
Royal Society U.K. bestows Hughes Medal on Dr. Linda Nazar
Decades of work leads to prestigious award win for the Canada Research Chair and chemistry professor
For an energy scientist, few things are more prestigious than receiving a Royal Society U.K. Hughes Medal. Named after Welsh-American scientist and musician David E. Hughes, who invented the first working radio communication system and the first microphone, the Hughes Medal is awarded yearly for outstanding contributions in the field of energy. Although the medal is rarely given to someone outside of the U.K., this year, Dr. Linda Nazar from the Faculty of Science was named the winner of this distinguished award.
Nazar is a world authority in electrochemical energy storage whose immense impact on the field has resulted in seminal contributions to materials chemistry and electrochemistry. She has advanced fundamental knowledge to solve important problems related to sustainable energy storage. Her work has also inspired countless others to push the envelope in their research, which has enhanced the field overall. Over the past decade, she has been among the most highly cited researchers (Web of Science) each year with over 300 co-authored papers and more than 82,000 citations.
Looking back on her career, Nazar shares many standout moments that make it easy to see why she was an ideal candidate for the Hughes Medal. Her early work on high-capacity cathode materials such as lithium iron phosphate led to significant advances in battery technology and the development of cathodes that offered higher energy densities and better performance at lower cost.
More recently, a highlight of her career is her research on lithium-sulfur batteries, which hold the potential for higher energy densities and lower costs compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries. Another is her pivotal research in the last decade. “Our contributions to solid electrolytes and advanced solid-state batteries have been instrumental in moving this technology closer to practical, widespread use,” Nazar says.
Her team has also been involved in developing and applying advanced techniques for characterizing battery materials at the atomic and molecular levels, which has deepened the fundamental understanding of how materials behave and degrade, leading to better design and longevity of energy storage.
Winning the Hughes Medal is a significant career milestone for Nazar. “I am excited and deeply honoured to receive this prize from the Royal Society of the U.K. in recognition of the impact our work in electrochemical energy storage has had,” she says. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to my field in a meaningful way and be part of such a prestigious community. The Hughes Medal is a milestone to celebrate and a motivation to keep pushing the boundaries of knowledge and innovation.”
What’s next for Nazar after this prestigious award win? She shares that her collaborations have played a significant role in expanding the impact of her work by integrating insights from other materials science, chemistry and engineering researchers, and she looks forward to fostering new collaborations in the U.K. “The Faraday Institution has really led the way in breaking new ground in electrochemical energy storage and I applaud the U.K. for establishing this important research institute,” Nazar says.
Nazar embodies why Waterloo is recognized worldwide as a leading research-intensive university, celebrated for its entrepreneurship and innovation.
