Dr Davide Michieletto receives the Philip Leverhulme Prize 2024 in physics

Prize funds will be used to carry out research in topological problems in soft matter physics.

The Philip Leverhulme Prize is awarded to researchers at an early stage of their career, whose work has had international impact and whose future research career is exceptionally promising.

Dr Michieletto’s background is in polymer and statistical physics and he has a track record in using both simulations and experiments. His current main line of research is inspired by how the genome in our cells is mechanically and topologically manipulated by proteins, and he is focused on discovering new DNA-based soft materials and complex fluids that can change topology in time.

Dr Michieletto will use funds from the Philip Leverhulme Prize to continue his group’s research on the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to classify knots. Although mostly focused on understanding the mechanisms through which AI learns mathematical ‘topological invariants’, this research can also have applications to protein folding, genome organisation and even drug design.