Dr Ehsan Arabahmadi on his graduation day, together with his supervisors Dr Daniel Schumayer (left) and Professor David Hutchinson (right).
Dr Ehsan Arabahmadi has been recognised as the winner of the 2024 Royal Society Te Apārangi Hatherton Award.
Ehsan received the award for a paper from his PhD in Computational Physics, published as a Letter in the prestigious journal, Physical Review Research published by the American Physical Society.
The paper studied the phenomenon of Anderson localisation, named for the pioneering work of Philip Anderson who was recognised with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977.
Physics Professor David Hutchinson, Ehsan’s primary supervisor, describes the research’s focus on phase transitions as a fundamental field of enquiry that holds unresolved challenges.
"As children I’m sure we were all captivated by phase transitions – the joy of growing crystals from the blue copper sulphate solution in our chemistry sets.
“One puzzle in the science of these transitions relates to the nature of the metal-insulator (Anderson) transition in the presence of disorder, which Ehsan addresses in this technically challenging theoretical paper,” David says.
The key results of the research are around properties at the metal-insulator transition in the presence of disorder, and provide greater insight for designing materials with controlled conductivity useful in applications including electronics and quantum systems.
Ehsan says he’s honoured to receive the Hatherton Award as the recognition means so much to him.
“I’d especially like to thank David for his guidance, encouragement, and unwavering support that made an incredible difference in my journey. He nurtured not only my scientific development but also my confidence which I’m profoundly thankful for.”
Ehsan also describes Dr Daniel Schumayer, his secondary supervisor based in the Department of Physics, as an “incredible mentor” during his PhD.
“Beyond our technical discussions, Daniel offered invaluable advice as I navigated life and academia in New Zealand. His kindness and insight made my transition much easier and enriched my experience in so many ways.”
David says that on a technical level, Ehsan is one of the best students he’s had the privilege of supervising.
“Ehsan mastered a significant amount of mathematical formalism, implemented that numerically, and managed the sheer volume of computational work required to produce robust, statistically significant scaling results. It was a real tour de force, confirming and clarifying some details around classes of phase transitions in disordered condensed matter systems. I am delighted to see his work recognised with the Hatherton Award.”
Ehsan moved to Otago from Iran to complete his PhD and says arriving in New Zealand was an inspiring experience.
“I was fascinated by its beauty, the rich multiculturalism, and the kindness I felt from the academic community and beyond which made New Zealand feel like a second home. The peaceful and collaborative environment fostered my growth and allowed me to focus on my research.”
He also thanks his parents, Mohammad Arabahmadi and Maliheh Hosseininezhad, for their unwavering support from Iran providing a “constant source of strength through my studies”.
Since graduating with his PhD, Ehsan has been working as an embedded systems engineer at Fisher and Paykel Appliances in Dunedin.
“I hope to continue contributing to the scientific community with the same dedication and openness that I have been so fortunate to experience here in New Zealand.”
Read about the winner of the Royal Society Te Apārangi’s Callaghan Medal for science communication