Surrey nuclear physicist honoured with prestigious Institute of Physics award

Over the years, Professor Podolyak’s research has helped advance understanding of how the structure of atomic nuclei changes when they contain unusual numbers of protons and neutrons, offering new insights into some of the rarest and most unstable forms. 

He has helped identify 129 nuclear isomers – atomic nuclei that can remain in an excited, higher-energy state before releasing that energy – placing him second worldwide for discoveries of these states, according to a 2026 ranking. 

Professor Podolyak has also led major experimental programmes at research facilities in Germany and Japan using radioactive-ion beams, helping scientists investigate parts of the nuclear landscape that were previously difficult to access 

He currently leads the international Nuclear Structure, Astrophysics and Reactions (NuSTAR) collaboration at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Germany, bringing together more than 600 scientists involved in international nuclear research. 

Congratulating this year's award winners, Paul Howarth, President of the Institute of Physics, said: 

The IOP is the professional body and learned society for physics in the UK and Ireland, as well as the leading body for practising physicists. Its annual awards proudly reflect the wide variety of people, places, organisations and achievements that make physics such an exciting discipline. 

The Ernest Rutherford Medal and Prize is among the IOP's awards recognising outstanding achievements in physics. Professor Podolyak follows in the footsteps of fellow Surrey nuclear physicist Professor Philip Walker, who received the Ernest Rutherford Medal and Prize in 2019. 

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Notes to editors 

• Professor Zsolt Podolyak is available for interview; please contact mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk to arrange.