Cambridge physicist Professor Suchitra Sebastian to join group of ten recently tenured professors named to Polymath Program, awarded up to $2.5 million each for interdisciplinary research support.
Professor Suchitra Sebastian from Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory has been awarded the Schmidt Science Polymaths award. Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, announced ten new recipients of the award, which provides $500,000 a year, paid through their institution, for up to five years to help support part of a research group.
The Polymath programme makes long-term bets on recently-tenured professors with remarkable track records, promising futures, and a desire to explore risky new research ideas across disciplines. The awardees are the second group to receive the Polymath award, joining just two other exceptionally talented interdisciplinary researchers named in 2021. The awards build upon Schmidt Futures’ commitment to identifying and supporting extraordinary talent, and growing networks empowered to solve hard problems in science and society.
Professor Sebastian’s research seeks to discover exotic quantum phases of matter in complex materials. Her group’s experiments involve tuning the co-operative behaviour of electrons within these materials by subjecting them to extreme conditions including low temperature, high applied pressure, and intense magnetic field.
"To be recognised for this by Schmidt Futures is so unexpected and exciting, the possibilities this award opens up are endless. I look forward to embarking on new quantum explorations, it’s going to be a wild ride!” Professor Suchitra Sebastian, HCavendish Laboratory
Read the full University of Cambridge article.
Image credit: Nick Saffell