International engineering award for UofG detector expert
Published: 4 September 2026
A University of Glasgow engineer is set to receive a major international award for his pioneering work to develop advanced detector technologies.
A University of Glasgow engineer is set to receive a major international award for his pioneering work to develop advanced detector technologies.
The James Watt School of Engineering’s Professor Robert Hadfield will be presented with the IEEE Council on Superconductivity Award for Significant and Continuing Contributions in Applied Superconductivity during the Applied Superconductivity Conference in Pittsburgh, USA on Monday 7th September.
The award is presented annually to leading scientists and engineers in recognition of outstanding technical contributions and achievements in the field of applied superconductivity. Previous recipients of the award include Professor John Clarke, recipient of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics.
For more than two decades, Professor Hadfield has led developments in a new class of detectors based on superconducting materials a thousandth the width of a human air. These devices are sensitive enough to detect individual light quanta – single photons – deep into the infrared spectrum.
He has pioneered innovative cryogenics and implemented these detectors into a range of applications including quantum cryptography, quantum computing, remote sensing and laser medicine.
Professor Hadfield has also established UK sovereign capability in this technology through the University of Glasgow’s James Watt Nanofabrication Centre. Thanks to his groundbreaking work, these detectors are the gold standard for single photon detection at infrared wavelengths and widely adopted in industrial applications.
Professor Hadfield said: “I am honoured to receive this award. The applied superconductivity community has supported me throughout my research career. I am grateful to my mentors and collaborators in the field, plus the talented early career researchers I have been lucky enough to work with.”
Professor Muhammad Imran, the head of the James Watt School of Engineering, said: “I congratulate Robert and his team on this outstanding achievement. It is exciting to see cutting-edge engineering research from Glasgow achieve real-world impact.”
First published: 4 September 2026