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Journal of Materials Science - The Robert W. Cahn Prize for Best Research Paper

The Cahn Prize has been named in honor of the Journal’s founding editor, the late Professor Robert Wolfgang Cahn.

Each month the Editors select a paper published in that month’s issues via a rigorous nomination and voting procedure. The winning paper is selected from the twelve finalists by a separate panel of distinguished materials scientists. 

The authors of the winning paper receive an award of $5,000.

The 2023 Cahn Prize

The Winner of the 2023 Robert W. Cahn Prize for Journal of Materials Science is: 

Molecular modelling of graphene nanoribbons on the effect of porosity and oxidation on the mechanical and thermal properties (this opens in a new tab)
By Carlos Sáenz Ezquerro, Manuel Laspalas, José Manuel García Aznar, Susana Castelar Ariza & Agustín Chiminelli 

Drs Ezquerro et al

Statement from the Authors

"The research presented in our paper was conceived to be and to state a link between the experimentation and what’s beyond the reach of current experimentation. Nanomaterials, such as the graphene nanoribbons assessed in our study, have dimensions at the nanometre scale which make difficult their characterization by traditional techniques and require complex experimental tests such as nanoindentation or nanocompression. The atomistic simulations performed through molecular dynamics (MD) are established as an attractive alternative which are within the reach of any today’s desktop, and our research tries to demonstrate this point.

"For our team, receiving The 2023 Robert W. Cahn Best Paper Award is an honour and also serves us as a recognition of all the previous hard work done to reach this research. We would like to thank the editors of the Journal of Materials Science of considering our research and this will serve as motivation for future work."

Statement from the Judge

“Graphene is considered as the most promising nanomaterial of recent decades. The paper presents a detailed series of molecular simulation models of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), which were constructed with different degrees of porosity and with or without oxidation. This is to assess the effect of those parameters on the tensile mechanical and thermal conductivity properties. The paper is very well written, with excellent graphics and presents a thorough study that will be of use to researchers in this rapidly expanding area, with clear practical applications. This work also demonstrates the value of modelling to experimentalists, as such small systems cannot always be observed in situ, and reminds us of the value of collaborating across skills to extract the best information we can.”

Prof. Jan Evans-Freeman

-Professor Jan Evans-Freeman, FInstP, DistFEngNZ, CMInstD, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Sustainability at the University of Canterbury, incoming President of Engineering at the same University, Judge for the 2023 Cahn Prize.

Runners-Up:

Interlocking metasurfaces (this opens in a new tab)
By Ophelia Bolmin, Benjamin Young, Nicholas Leathe, Philip J. Noell & Brad L. Boyce 

Residual stress analysis in industrial parts: a comprehensive comparison of XRD methods (this opens in a new tab)
By Ardeshir Sarmast, Jan Schubnell, Johannes Preußner, Manuel Hinterstein & Eva Carl 


Previous Cahn Prize Winners and Finalists

2022 Cahn Prize

Machine learning guided alloy design of high-temperature NiTiHf shape memory alloys (this opens in a new tab)
By Udesh M. H. U. Kankanamge, Johannes Reiner, Xingjun Ma, Santiago Corujeira Gallo & Wei Xu 

See all 2023 finalists here. (this opens in a new tab)

2021 Cahn Prize

Dislocation-based crack initiation and propagation in single-crystal SrTiO3 (this opens in a new tab)
By Xufei Fang, Kuan Ding, Christian Minnert, Atsutomo Nakamura & Karsten Durst 

2020 Cahn Prize

Highly stretchable, breathable and negative resistance variation textile strain sensor with excellent mechanical stability for wearable electronics (this opens in a new tab)
By Kai Zhao, Wenbin Niu & Shufen Zhang 

See all 2020 finalists here. (this opens in a new tab)

2019 Cahn Prize

Robust raspberry-like all-polymer particles for the construction of superhydrophobic surface with high water adhesive force (this opens in a new tab)
By Cheng Chen, Liping Zhang, Mingfei Sheng, Yu Guan, Hao Dong & Shaohai Fu 

See all 2019 finalists here. (this opens in a new tab)

2018 Cahn Prize

Measuring solid–liquid interfacial energy fields: diffusion-limited patterns (this opens in a new tab)
By Martin E. Glicksman & Kumar Ankit 

See all 2018 finalists here. (this opens in a new tab)

2017 Cahn Prize

Stress and strain mapping of micro-domain bundles in barium titanate using electron backscatter diffraction (this opens in a new tab)
By Jane A. Howell, Mark D. Vaudin, Lawrence H. Friedman & Robert F. Cook 

See all 2017 finalists here. (this opens in a new tab)

2016 Cahn Prize

Exploration of the mechanisms of temperature-dependent grain boundary mobility: search for the common origin of ultrafast grain boundary motion (this opens in a new tab)
By C. J. O’Brien & S. M. Foiles 

See all 2016 finalists here. (this opens in a new tab)

2015 Cahn Prize

Structure, composition, and defect control during plasma spray deposition of ytterbium silicate coatings (this opens in a new tab)
By Bradley T. Richards, Hengbei Zhao & Haydn N. G. Wadley 

See all 2015 finalists here. (this opens in a new tab)

2014 Cahn Prize

Mechanical characterization of hollow ceramic nanolattices (this opens in a new tab)
By Lucas R. Meza & Julia R. Greer 

See all 2014 finalists here. (this opens in a new tab)

2013 Cahn Prize

Dislocation controlled wear in single crystal silicon carbide (this opens in a new tab)
By Maneesh Mishra & Izabela Szlufarska 

See all 2013 finalists here. (this opens in a new tab)

2012 Cahn Prize

Room temperature fracture processes of a near-α titanium alloy following elevated temperature exposure (this opens in a new tab)
By A. L. Pilchak, W. J. Porter & R. John 

See all 2012 finalists here. (this opens in a new tab)

The 2011 Sapphire Prize

The 2011 Sapphire Prize commemorated the Journal's 45th Anniversary, and was later adapted into the annual Cahn Prize. 

Giant carbon solubility in Au nanoparticles (this opens in a new tab)
By Eli A. Sutter & Peter W. Sutter 

You can see the 2011 Sapphire Prize Finalists here. (this opens in a new tab)

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