Professor Filip Rindler, a mathematician from The University of Warwick, has been announced as an honouree for the UK Physical Sciences & Engineering Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists.

Filip’s research sits at the intersection of applied and theoretical mathematics. He is being recognised by the Blavatnik Awards for mathematically resolving century-old questions about how materials, like metals, can be bent without breaking. 

Professor Rindler said, “I am thrilled to be recognised as one of the honourees at this year’s UK Blavatnik Awards. As a mathematician that works mostly theoretically, my work concerns the fundamental aspects of plasticity - why and how metals deform.”

“Despite millennia of metalworking, we lack a predictive model for metal deformation, and this has often been seen as the field's ‘Holy Grail.’ Advancing this quest through maths and material science has been profoundly rewarding, marking just the beginning of an incredible journey!” 

Filip’s ground-breaking mathematical models explain how microscopic defects, called dislocations, allow metals to deform. The theory not only advances foundational mathematics but has implications for material science. Predicting the behaviour of metals could reduce the need for strength-testing and provide more efficient means of production.  

Professor Rindler is only the second mathematician to have been nominated for the UK Physical Sciences & Engineering Award. Inaugurated in 2018, The UK Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists was established by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and independently administered by The New York Academy of Sciences. They are the highest unrestricted prize funds available to UK scientists aged forty-two or younger. 

The Head of the Blavatnik Family Foundation, Sir Leonard BlavatnikLink opens in a new window, said “We created the Blavatnik Awards to support the creative and novel research of promising scientists early in their careers, recognising their achievements and accelerating the trajectories of beneficial scientific breakthroughs and innovations.” 

Filip will present his research alongside the other honourees at a free public symposium entitled “Imagining the Impossible: UK Scientists Changing Our World,” at the Royal Academy of Medicine on 5th March 2025. 

ENDS 

For more information, please contact: 
Matt Higgs – Media & Communications Officer (Press Office) 
Matt.Higgs@warwick.ac.ukLink opens in a new window | +44 (0) 7880175403

Notes to Editors 

About the University of Warwick
The University of WarwickLink opens in a new window is one of the UK’s leading universities, marking its 60th anniversary in 2025. With over twenty-eight thousand students from 147 countries, it is currently ranked 9th in the UK by The Guardian University Guide. It has an acknowledged reputation for excellence in research and teaching, for innovation, and for links with business and industry. The recent Research Excellence Framework classed 92% of its research as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. The University of Warwick was awarded Midlands University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times. 

About the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists  
The Blavatnik Awards for Young ScientistsLink opens in a new window began by identifying outstanding scientific talent in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In 2014, the Blavatnik National Awards were created to recognise faculty-rank scientists throughout the United States. In 2017, the Awards were further expanded to honour faculty-rank scientists in the UK and Israel. The awards were established by the Blavatnik Family FoundationLink opens in a new window, which provides many of the world’s leading researchers, scientists, and future leaders with the support and funding needed to solve humankind’s greatest challenges. It is administered by The New York Academy of SciencesLink opens in a new window, an independent, not-for-profit organisation that, since 1817, has been committed to advancing science for the benefit of society.