Dr Michalchuk was nominated by ISIS scientist Dr Svemir Rudic, who first met him in 2015 when Adam attended the ISIS Neutron Training Course as a PhD student. “In just five years since completing his PhD, Adam has built an international reputation in mechanochemistry, tackling some of the field's most complex questions," said Dr Rudic. “His interdisciplinary approach, combining neutron scattering spectroscopy, high-pressure neutron diffraction and quantum chemical simulations, has led to a theoretical framework that predicts mechanochemical reactions in explosive materials."
Dr Adam Michalchuk, this year's BTM Willis Prize Winner, at the Tosca instrument at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source.
Dr Michalchuk's research explores how mechanical energy drives chemical reactions at the atomic level. His work has provided new insights into how mechanical strain triggers transformations in crystals, advancing fundamental understanding in the field. Mechanochemical reactivity plays a key role in functional materials and emerging technologies for sustainable chemical manufacturing, but a lack of fundamental understanding has limited its full potential.
A regular user of neutron techniques, Adam's experiments on the Tosca and Pearl instruments at ISIS have led to seven publications in the past five years,
1 several of which have featured as ISIS Science Highlights.
2 His ongoing projects, which include experiments on the Tosca, Merlin and Vesuvio instruments, are set to reshape our understanding of mechanochemistry and organic crystal behaviour. He has also pioneered the use of neutron diffraction to track mechanochemical (ball milling) reactions in situ, using a bespoke set-up at the HRPT diffractometer at the SINQ facility at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland.
Holding independent positions at both the University of Birmingham and the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing in Germany, Dr Michalchuk leads a diverse, internationally recognised research team. His contributions have earned him numerous awards, including the 2024 Thieme Chemistry Journal Award, the 2023 RSC Sponsored Rising Star in Mechanochemistry Award and the 2022 ISIS Economic Impact Award.
Beyond his research, Dr Michalchuk plays an active role in the scientific community. He is an associate editor for the solid-state chemistry section of Frontiers, serves on the international advisory board of the RSC Mechanochemistry journal and reviews for many major publications. A strong advocate for accessibility in science, he hosts high school and undergraduate research students in his group, welcoming students from diverse backgrounds, including those from disadvantaged communities. He also leads international training initiatives in neutron and synchrotron techniques. As an Assistant Professor at the University of Birmingham, Adam is leading initiatives to strengthen education in sustainability and green chemistry, and is pioneering the UK's first undergraduate courses in sustainable mechanochemistry.
Dr Craig Brown, Director of the Centre for High-Resolution Neutron Scattering at NIST, supported Dr Michalchuk's nomination. “Adam's work is making unprecedented strides towards a fundamental understanding of mechanochemistry, with the potential to transform industrial chemical manufacturing and the entire field of mechanochemistry," said Dr Brown. “Beyond his scientific contributions, he is a dedicated mentor and advocate for neutron science, actively supporting the research community through editorial roles, workshops and international collaborations."
The BTM Willis Prize is named in honour of Professor Terry Willis, founder of the UK Neutron Scattering Group and the Harwell (later Oxford) School of Neutron Scattering. Since 2001, the prize has been coordinated by the Neutron Scattering Group, a joint Interest Group of the Institute of Physics and Royal Society of Chemistry. It is awarded to an individual in recognition of a single outstanding piece of work, or of a longer-term coherent body of work, in the use of neutrons applied to a significant scientific challenge or, alternatively, in recognition of a major development in neutron instrumentation or techniques.
Dr Michalchuk will deliver his Willis Prize lecture at the
UK Neutron & Muon Science and User Meeting (NMSUM) 2025 at the University of Warwick.
- Michalchuk et al. (2021) Chem. Commun. 57(85), 11213-11216
Michalchuk et al. (2021) J. Chem. Phys. 154(6), 064105
Michalchuk, et al. (2019) J. Mater. Chem. A. 7, 19539-19553
Kervarec et al. (2020) Chem Eur. J. 26(32), 7314-7322
Atceken et al. (2023) Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 25(46), 31646-31654.
Christopher et al. (2024) Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 26, 16859-16870.
- What makes an explosive go bang?
Going bang in the beamline!
Xpress access to TOSCA leads to the quick characterisation of a catalyst for hydrofluorination
