ESRF user awarded 2023 Bragg prize

The prize, established by the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) in 2017 for promising early-career researchers, recognises Professor Simonov’s development of the three-dimensional difference pair distribution function (3D-∆PDF) approach and its transformative effect on the field of materials.

A long-standing user of the CRG SNBL beamline BM01 and ESRF beamlines ID23-1, ID22, ID15B, ID11 and ID28, Professor Simonov established the first general approach for refinement of the diffuse scattering contribution to single-crystal diffraction patterns, resulting in the development of the foremost codes for data reduction (MEERKAT) and 3D-∆PDF refinement (YELL). He applied his methodology to a range of systems, establishing a series of proofs-of-concept and solving a number of crucially important outstanding problems in the field of complex materials.

The prize will be presented during the 26th IUCr Congress in Melbourne, Australia, in August 2023, where Professor Simonov will present the Keynote Lecture on his work.