Professor Alexander Quandt has won the Special Annual Theme Award for his work on materials for inclusive economic development
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Professor Alexander Quandt, acting chair of the Materials for Energy Research Group and focus area co-ordinator for the Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials, has won the Special Annual Theme Award in the National Science and Technology Forum South32 Awards (the “Science Oscars”) for his work on materials for inclusive economic development. His work on the theoretical foundations, numerical implementations and practical applications of state-of-the-art material simulations focuses on first principle methods, starting from a quantum mechanical description of the atoms that constitute a given material. His methods have allowed for the development of ground-breaking contributions to the field of 2D materials that play a central role in upcoming quantum technologies.
“Computer experiments have finally established themselves alongside
more traditional experimental techniques as a powerful tool to develop novel
technologies in a very economical and systematic fashion,” says Quandt. “My
research also points out new applications of chemical elements across the whole
periodic table, which might lead to new types of solar cells, batteries and
computing devices [being] developed here in South Africa.”
Quandt says the highlight of his research is the work on planar
types of nanomaterials similar to the so-called wonder material, graphene. Some
of his research in the field pre-dated graphene and was based on boron, the
immediate neighbour of carbon in the periodic table.
“The research groups I managed in the past or started recently are
role models for unconventional but nevertheless very successful and productive
multi-disciplinary research initiatives into the fields of materials science
and energy technologies,” adds Quandt. “The University of the Witwatersrand has
become the main hub of a new trans-continental ARUA Centre of Excellence in
Materials, Energy and Nanotechnology (ARUA CoE-MEN) that is headed by Leslie
Cornish and myself.”
Quandt is hoping that his work may ultimately lead to the
establishment of a network of highly trained graduates that will strengthen the
materials beneficiation and high-tech sectors, something that South Africa
sorely needs if it wants to play a role in emergent technologies.
“The goal is to develop an accurate description of optical and
energy devices over multiple length scales, which start from the atomic
structure of basic materials and extend all the way to the simulation of a
typical working device,” says Quandt. “Understanding a solar cell, a complex
optical waveguide system or a battery in virtually all of its physical and
chemical aspects allows for the optimisation of existing technologies and the
development of entirely new technologies.”
Ultimately, Quandt believes that the development and implementation
of powerful numeric simulation methods will be a key aspect in emerging fields
such as Industry 4.0 and Quantum Computing.
“As a student I was given a copy of Linus Pauling’s The Nature of the Chemical Bond, and I
devoured it in one go,” concludes Quandt. “Pauling’s unique scientific style of
combining intuition with quantum mechanical calculations and detailed
experimental studies has always been an inspiration for my own work as a
materials scientist. It was a great satisfaction to add new fundamental aspects
to one of the most esoteric chapters in his book about electron deficient
materials.”
Quandt walks away with the Special Annual Theme Award thanks to his
pioneering work in computational materials science with applications to
nanomaterials, optics/photonics and renewable energy research, an award well
earned indeed. — Tamsin Oxford