The Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences announced that University of Virginia professor Patrick E. Hopkins was among 31 finalists for the 2022 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, one of the world’s largest prizes honoring early-career scientists and engineers.
The honorees were chosen from a highly competitive pool of 309 nominees from 150 leading universities and scientific institutions from 38 states across the United States. From that exceptional group, three winners – in life sciences, chemistry, and physical sciences and engineering – will be named on June 29, each receiving $250,000 as a Blavatnik National Awards Laureate. Hopkins is among 10 finalists in the physical sciences and engineering group.
Hopkins is a Whitney Stone Professor of Engineering and a professor in the UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He is a world-renowned expert in nano-scale thermal transport and is developing important thermal technologies to reduce, reuse and recycle energy to help curb the growing energy needs of our society. Hopkins, who has courtesy appointments in theUVA Department of Physics and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, is also one of the leaders of UVA Engineering’s Multifunctional Materials Integration initiative, which brings together researchers from multiple engineering disciplines to formulate materials that aim to create new functionalities in critical technologies of modern society.
“Being recognized as a finalist for this award is exciting and humbling, especially given the world-class leaders that evaluated my body of work for this and the caliber of fellow young scientists and engineers that have been and will be finalists for this award,” Hopkins said.
Since the Blavatnik National Awards were established nine years ago, many of the finalists have made extraordinary discoveries that have led to groundbreaking innovations in their respective fields,” said Len Blavatnik, founder and chairman of Access Industries and head of the Blavatnik Family Foundation, said in a release.
Previous honorees have gone on to help develop COVID-19 vaccines and diagnostics; identify sustainable energy and battery technologies; tackle climate change through novel technologies, such as next-generation photovoltaics and sustainable new materials; and find cures for treatment-resistant diseases. Many also have received other prestigious honors, including being elected as fellows to the National Academy of Sciences or selected as MacArthur Foundation fellows.
“We are proud to honor their commitment to scientific excellence and celebrate their achievements. We look forward to following their continued success,” Blavatnik said.
Hopkins has also earned the 2021 ASME Gustus L. Larson Memorial Award, the 2016 ASME Bergles-Rohsenow Young Investigator Award in Heat Transfer and the 2013 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). He was also honored as a Blavatnik National Awards finalist in 2014.