Erwin Félix Lewy Bertaut Prize for 2023

The 2023 Erwin Félix Lewy Bertaut Prize was awarded to Dr Matilde Saura-Múzquiz, currently at the Department of Materials Physics, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. The ECA and the European Neutron Scattering Association (ENSA) jointly award the Bertaut Prize in memory of the scientific achievements of the late Erwin Félix Lewy Bertaut, representing cornerstones in both crystallography and neutron scattering. The laureate is expected to be a young scientist (up to eight years after finishing their PhD thesis) having a clear affiliation with the ECA/ENSA region in recognition of notable experimental, methodological or theoretical contributions to the investigation of matter using crystallographic or neutron scattering methods.

Dr Saura-Múzquiz has impressive early-career contributions in the field of the crystallography of functional materials, in particular those related to the studies of magnetic and non-magnetic complex oxide structure (scheelites, fergusonites, perovskites, pyrochlores, …) and those on nanoparticle morphology, nuclear and magnetic texture and magnetic performance of sintered materials, while combining neutron and X-ray diffraction methods. The Bertaut Prize ceremony took place in Garching, Germany, during the European Conference on Neutron Scattering 2023.