Anton Akhmerov honored at the Opening of the Academic Year
At the Opening of the Academic Year former FOM PhD Dr. Anton Akhmerov was awarded the Gratama Science Prize, a new award offered by the Leiden University Fund. He received this prize for young talented researchers in recognition of his research on functional applications for graphene, a single-layer carbon material. This is a highly competitive field that is experiencing rapid development.
According to the jury, made up of the Science Committee of the Leiden University Fund, Akhmerov is 'a creative and independent thinker, as well as being an excellent networker and colleague.'
Although still young, Akhmerov has already published some 30 papers. He has integrated twelve of these - more than double the standard number - into his PhD dissertation. Remarkably, he has managed to introduce new insights into almost all of these papers.
Akhmerov received his PhD with distinction in 2011, under the supervision of FOM workgroup leader Prof.dr. Carlo Beenakker. In the same year, he was nominated as Discoverer of the Year by the Faculty of Science, and his dissertation entitled Dirac and Majorana edge states in graphene and topological superconductors was acclaimed as the best dissertation of the year.
All the nominations were of the highest standard, but 'this particular candidate was head and shoulders above the rest,' in the opinion of the jury.