Pioneers in Hybrid Glass Research
Prize
Dalton Horizon PrizesYear
2025
Citation
For the discovery and development of hybrid glasses, a new family of glasses separate to known inorganic, organic and metallic families.
Hybrid glasses contain both inorganic and organic parts. They are a new category of glass, exterior to known inorganic, organic and metallic categories, and the first found since the 1970s. Applications in photonics, energy generation, gas separations, displays and memory storage may be possible.
It is the first new chemical family of glasses formed since metallic glasses in the 1970s. The combination of organic and inorganic species within the same glass material will hopefully not only enable applications of metal-organic frameworks, but also open up new applications for glass science.
Professor Thomas Bennett
- Prof. Thomas Douglas Bennett, Professor / ahorangi, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences | Te Kura Mat奴, University of Canterbury | Te Whare W膩nanga o Waitaha, New Zealand |Aotearoa
- Prof. Fr茅d茅ric Blanc, Professor, University of Liverpool, UK
- Prof. Fran莽ois-Xavier Coudert, Directeur de recherche, Chimie ParisTech, PSL University, CNRS, Institut de Recherche de Chimie Paris, France
- Dr. Mathew Cowan, Senior Lecturer, MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology & University of Canterbury, New Zealand
- Prof. Sian Dutton, Professor, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Prof. Pierre Florian, Professor, CNRS, CEMHTI UPR3079, Universit茅 d'Orl茅ans, France
- Prof. Sebastian Henke, Professor, Technische Universit盲t Dortmund, Germany
- Prof. Satoshi Horike, Professor, Kyoto University, Japan & Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology, Thailand
- Assoc. Prof. Jingwei Hou, Associate Professor, The University of Queensland, Australia
- Prof. Kim Jelfs, Professor, Imperial College London
- Prof. David A. Keen, Professor, ISIS Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK
- Prof. Shichun Li, Professor, Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, China
- Prof. John Mauro, Professor, The Pennsylvania State University United States
- Prof. Sanjog Nagarkar, Professor, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay
- Prof. Morten Mattrup Smedskj忙r, Professor, Aalborg University, Denmark
- Prof. Shane Telfer, Professor, MacDiarmid Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology & Massey University, New Zealand
- Prof. Lothar Wondraczek, Professor, Otto Schott Institute of Materials Research & Center for Energy and Environmental Chemistry (CEEC Jena), University of Jena, Germany
- Prof. Yuanzheng Yue, Professor, Aalborg University, Denmark
Q&A with Pioneers in Hybrid Glass Research
What was your role within the team?
Thomas Bennett: Bringing researchers across the globe together, recognising the different, beneficial experience everyone has to bring, and leading the team in the discovery of hybrid glasses.
What were the biggest challenges in this project?
Thomas Bennett: Getting traction early on 鈥� convincing people that fundamental, novel and ground-breaking science should be pursued and that an application need not be initially apparent.
What different strengths did different people bring to the team?
Satoshi Horike, Sian Dutton and Sanjog Nagarkar brought a wealth of knowledge on lower dimensional systems, and brought a fantastic ion conduction approach to the work.
Sebastian Henke, Shane Telfer, Shichun Li and Mathew Cowan lent their considerable expertise in gas sorption and separation, again heading toward application.
Pierre Florian brought high-temperature NMR studies to the fore, allowing characterisation of the liquid state.
Francois-Xavier Coudert and Kim Jelfs were instrumental in bringing computational modelling of these complex systems to light.
John Mauro, Morten Smedskjaer and Lothar Wondraczek are from a different field (glass science, as opposed to metal-organic frameworks) and spent much time with me imparting their expertise.
David Keen was instrumental in structural studies of the glasses through pair distribution function analysis Jingwei Hou was key in developing composites from the hybrid glasses.
Yuanzheng Yue brought a wealth experience on the thermal characterisation of glasses.
Why is this work so important and exciting?
Thomas Bennett: It is the first new chemical family of glasses formed since metallic glasses in the 1970s. The combination of organic and inorganic species within the same glass material will hopefully not only enable applications of metal-organic frameworks, but also open up new applications for glass science. Spanning both fields, it offers much room for exploration by early career researchers looking to do something different.
How do you see this work developing over the next few years, and what is next for this technology/research?
Thomas Bennett: I see many more people coming into the field 鈥� not just those that I have trained, but early-career researchers looking to do something a bit different. I would hope that New Zealand continues to support this research, and that we can use it together to promote science within this beautiful country.
What inspires or motivates your team?
Thomas Bennett: The spirit of open-mindedness and generosity. Doing something different, and at the same time escaping a mindset perhaps becoming more entrenched in academia 鈥� that of individualism. Here in New Zealand there is something for everybody, and the outdoors is second to none. There is nothing better than finishing a week of rewarding work, with a hike in the mountains or a paddleboard in the sea.
What does good research culture look like or mean to you?
Thomas Bennett: I am extremely invested in well-being. Individualism, comparing and over-working lead not to good science, but often to burnout. A good research culture involves supporting the fostering of healthy beliefs and work-life balance, and at the same time promoting curiosity and interest. It also involves collaboration and honesty 鈥� we have tons of both here in New Zealand.
What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in the chemical sciences?
Thomas Bennett: Ask yourself why and pay attention to what your mind-body is telling you. There are a multitude of different reasons, and asking yourself is this a good reason or not is invaluable.
Our winners
We are recognising individuals, collaborations and teams for their exceptional achievements in advancing the chemical sciences. Thank you to everybody who took the time to make a nomination this year, and to all of our volunteers on our judging panels. Explore our prize winners, and discover and share their stories.
Explore prize winners