Dr Philip Dyer receives the Franco-British Science Prize

Dr. Philip Dyer received the scientific French-British Award

Every year (since 1988), France and the United Kingdom take turns to award a prize to a young scientist originating from the other country. Winners have carried out research work, of an excellent standard, which involved both countries and will serve as a starting point for future collaborations. British award winners are chosen by the French Académie des Sciences, and French winners by the Royal Society, from a shortlist nominated by senior research scientists.

The 2006 prize was awarded to Dr Philip Dyer for his work on synthetic inorganic chemistry. Dr Dyer, who is currently Lecturer in inorganic chemistry at the University of Durham, has collaborated and collaborates extensively with French colleagues from the universities of Toulouse, Rennes, Pau and Strasbourg.

M. Jacques Audibert, Chargé d’Affaires at the French Embassy, presented Dr Dyer with the prize on 7 March during a reception held at the Résidence de France.

On this occasion, several key elements of Franco-British cooperation were highlighted: the links existing between the JET experiment and the ITER machine under construction in Cadarache, the partnership between the two synchrotron radiation facilities Soleil (Saclay, France) and Diamond (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire) and the Joint PhD scheme developed by the Science and Technology Department of the French Embassy in London.