The Third Erwin Felix Bertaut Prize of the European Crystallographic Association (ECA) and European Neutron Scattering Association (ENSA) is awarded to Dr Tom Fennell, beamline scientist from the Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France. Tom Fennell is recognised for the outstanding level of the neutron scattering experiments, using both polarized and high resolution techniques, in his pioneering work to characterize spin ice materials and demonstrate the existence of a Coulomb phase therein. His diffuse neutron scattering measurements in applied magnetic field or with polarization analysis have revealed the first examples of pinch point scattering in magnetic systems, underpinning theories in which the excitations of a spin ice are emergent magnetic monopoles.
From left: Michael Steiner (President ENSA), Tom Fennel (winner 3rd Betraut Prize), Santiago Garcia-Granda (President ECA), Andreas Roodt (Chair: Bertaut Prize Committee)