Sergei Kalinin, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been named the winner of the David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics by the American Physical Society. The award recognizes one outstanding contributor in the field of materials physics who is notable for high-quality research, review articles, and lecturing.

"I am deeply honored to receive the Adler Award, as it recognizes the critical transition in materials discovery that my colleagues at the University of Tennessee and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and I have championed," Kalinin said. "Our vision emphasizes the necessity of high-throughput characterization alongside simulation and synthesis. The advancements in electron and scanning probe microscopy, combined with machine learning integration, represent a transformative step in closing the characterization loop, enabling us to make significant strides in understanding and discovering new materials."

As the winner of the award, Kalinin will receive a $5,000 honorarium. The award will be presented at the March APS meeting, where Kalinin will present an invited talk before the appropriate focused session of the Materials Physics Division.

While the significance of research was important in winning the award, special attention was paid to the written and oral skills of the winner. As someone who pushes for further understanding and discovery in the field, Kalinin believes good communications skills are vital.

"The acknowledgment from APS reinforces the importance of our approach to 'go small' in our methodologies to ultimately 'go big' in the impact we can achieve within the field," Kalinin said. "This recognition inspires me to continue pushing the boundaries of materials discovery, fostering innovation and collaboration in our scientific community."