News

Congratulations to Dr Miguel Oliveira, who has won the Research Enabler award at the recent Research Celebration Awards at the University of Warwick.

Miguel manages the Scientific Computing Research Technology Platform (RTP) at the University of Warwick, where he ensures the facility operates with consistency, reliability, and precision. His focus is on maintaining a robust computational environment that researchers can depend on without interruption, allowing complex projects to progress smoothly.

He is recognised for his meticulous and highly responsive approach to managing the platform, ensuring that systems run efficiently and that users are well supported. Whether troubleshooting issues, maintaining infrastructure, or guiding users through technical challenges, he plays a key role in removing obstacles and keeping research on track.

Through his leadership, the Scientific Computing RTP provides a stable and dependable foundation for research activity across the University, supporting a wide community of users and enabling high-quality research outputs.

Dr Jack Woolley has been awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry's (RSC) 2025 Technical Excellence Award for providing outstanding technical and scientific support to users of the Warwick Centre for Ultrafast Spectroscopy (WCUS).

Jack has been the platform manager since the foundation of the WCUS Research Technology Platform (RTP) in 2021, and his role includes everything from managing finances, purchasing, and health and safety, to training users and designing experiments. He works with a wide range of researchers from master’s students to postdocs and PIs, both at Warwick and from other institutions. He also helps users run experiments, analyse data, and often teach them how to operate the equipment themselves.

Apart from the day to day practical aspects of his job, Jack also invests time in promoting the research capabilities of the facility to academics and supervisors here at Warwick as well as in public outreach engagement activities. He demonstrates the use of his laser at events including the live lab Christmas lectures, Resonate Festivals at Warwick and a local art gallery.

On hearing about the award, Jack said 'There are so many brilliant technicians here at Warwick and across the UK, so to be recognised like this is a real honour'.

On Saturday the 9^th of March the WCUS RTP attended the Resonate Festival of Science and Technology, where they presented the effects of lasers and light. Visitors got to see the effects of interference through the WCUS Michelson Interferometer (funding for which was provided by a technician demonstrator award in 2023). They also demonstrated their fluorescent kitchen, explaining how molecules and materials deal with the energy they absorb. Throughout the day over 500 visitors of all ages got to learn how they control light in their laboratory and use lasers to measure materials.