College of Science & Engineering

A University of Glasgow academic has received a major award for his contribution to the field of advanced refrigeration. Professor Robert Hadfield, Professor of Photonics in the University’s School of Engineering, received the J&E Hall Gold Medal from the Institute of Refrigeration. This international prize is awarded annually for the ‘most noteworthy contribution to refrigeration and related technologies’. The Institute of Refrigeration, founded in 1899, is an independent organisation of refrigeration and air conditioning professionals.

Professor Hadfield has brought a highly promising new infrared single-photon detector technology forward into practical applications, via innovations in cryogenic engineering.
By integrating infrared superconducting single-photon detectors for the first time into closed-cycle refrigerator systems, he has managed to eliminate the need for liquid cryogens. This technology has already been put to work in a number of applications at the frontiers of science, from quantum cryptography to medical diagnostics.
Professor Hadfield said: “I’m proud and honoured to have received the Gold Medal from the Institute of Refrigeration.

“I joined the University of Glasgow from Heriot-Watt University earlier this year and I’m looking forward to continuing my research here with the support of my new colleagues.”

Professor Hadfield’s work is supported via the Royal Society of London via a University Research Fellowship and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

More details can be found at: 

http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/engineering/research/divisions/nanotechnology/opto/quantumsensors/

http://www.ior.org.uk/awards

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First published: 8 March 2013