AMD recently announced its success, in conjunction with Dr. Izabela Jurewicz from the University of Surrey, in the offer of an award from UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF) fund. This £1.6 million award is built around the work of Dr. Jurewicz at the University of Surrey in the field of graphene (and other 2D materials) within photonic crystals, where she focuses on optical color changes in the presence of different stimulants such as gases, radiation and more. The award will push her research forward and sponsor the transition into industry.
On completion of the award contract, Dr. Jurewicz will move to a full-time position with AMD at its main site on the Surrey Research Park, whilst maintaining full access to the laboratories at Surrey. She will also provide support and oversight to the established team at the University of Sussex under Professor Alan Dalton. AMD is one of the first commercial companies to receive such an award in partnership with a leading academic.
AMD’s CEO, John Lee, said: "This is a huge milestone announcement for AMD with the Future Leaders Fellowship award establishing a cornerstone in our future strategy. We have worked with the University of Surrey (the Department of Physics and School of Veterinary Medicine), and particularly Izabela, for several years and both parties consider this to be hugely beneficial. Izabela brings an enormous amount of expertise in the field of materials science and enjoys a very strong reputation as an innovative scientist. She will also collaborate with a Materials Physics Group from the University of Sussex in particular with Prof. Alan Dalton and will seek to drive collaborative R&D across both Universities whilst building AMD’s own in-house Advanced Engineering development team. We intend to kick-start this project soon, hopefully before the end of the year."
Dr. Izabela Jurewicz said: "I am extremely thrilled about this huge opportunity to join AMD to lead a multidisciplinary research team and to deliver smart and innovative nanotechnological solutions to global challenges."
Professor Alan Dalton, chair in Materials Physics at the University of Sussex and scientific advisor to AMD said: "I am excited to work with Izabela in her new role at AMD. Izabela was the first PhD student to graduate from my group over 10 years ago and it is immensely pleasing to see how successful she has been since, culminating in the award of this prestigious Fellowship. I look forward to working with Izabela in the continued collaboration between AMD and Sussex in the years ahead."