Michael Cates facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michael Cates
FRS FRSE HonFInstP
|
|
|---|---|
Cates in 2012
|
|
| Born |
Michael Elmhirst Cates
5 May 1961 Bristol, England
|
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Education | Trinity College, Cambridge (PhD) |
| Awards | Maxwell Medal and Prize (1991) Paul Dirac Medal and Prize (2009) Weissenberg Award (2013) Bingham Medal (2016) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics Soft matter |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge University of Edinburgh |
| Thesis | The statistical mechanics of complex polymers (1985) |
| Doctoral advisor | Sir Sam Edwards |
Michael Elmhirst Cates, born on May 5, 1961, is a famous British physicist. He holds a very special job called the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. He has been in this important role since July 1, 2015. Before this, he was a Professor at the University of Edinburgh. He also held a special research position with the Royal Society from 2007 to 2022.
Professor Cates studies something called soft matter. This includes everyday things like polymers (plastics), colloids (like milk), gels (like jelly), liquid crystals (used in screens), and granular material (like sand). His main goal is to create mathematical models. These models help predict how materials behave when they are flowing or moving. He wants to understand the "stress" in a material based on how it has moved in the past.
He also works on "active matter." This includes things like tiny self-propelled particles or even motile bacteria that can move on their own. He explores how these systems behave. His research also looks at how active systems can separate into different parts, like oil and water separating.
While at Edinburgh, Professor Cates led a big research project. It was about designing new soft materials. When he moved to Cambridge, another scientist, Cait MacPhee, took over the project. Professor Cates is still an Honorary Professor at Edinburgh. He helps guide the Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics there.
Early Life and Education
Michael Cates was born on May 5, 1961. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied Natural Sciences. He earned his PhD degree in 1985. His teacher and mentor there was Sir Sam Edwards.
Academic Journey
Before moving to Edinburgh in 1995, Professor Cates worked at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. He was a research fellow and a lecturer there.
Awards and Recognitions
Professor Cates has received many important awards for his work. In 2016, he won the Bingham Medal from the US Society of Rheology. Rheology is the study of how matter flows and changes shape. He also won the Weissenberg Award in 2013 and the Gold Medal of the British Society of Rheology in 2009.
He was awarded the Dirac Prize by the Institute of Physics in 2009. In 1991, he won the Maxwell Medal and Prize. He has also been an elected member of the Council of the Royal Society. He helped lead the International Scientific Committee of ESPCI ParisTech and was a Trustee of The Cyprus Institute.
In 2019, Professor Cates was chosen to be a member of the National Academy of Engineering. This was for his research on how complex fluids flow and behave. In 2021, he became an International Member of the US National Academy of Sciences. These are very high honors in the scientific world.
Published Works
Michael Cates has written more than 400 scientific papers. These papers have been cited by other scientists over 50,000 times. His h-index is 118, which is a way to measure how much impact a scientist's work has had. A higher h-index means more of their papers are cited often.
