Manchester students awarded a Junior Nobel Prize

Two students from The University of Manchester are celebrating after they both won a global award often referred to as the Junior Nobel Prize.

The Undergraduate Awards are the world’s largest international academic awards programme, which aim to recognise students’ excellent and original research across the spectrum of studies. They often lead on to greater things, and make the lucky few high-potential undergraduates.

The programme saw over 5,000 entries from undergraduates this year, from 244 different institutions in 121 different countries, yet our two Manchester students, Jamie Hargreaves and Natalia Beghin, won the Global Winner award for the highest-performing paper within its category.

Jamie won the Mathematics & Physics prize for his paper, which investigated the biomechanical properties of the skin and how to accurately replicate its behaviour. This research could go on to help the process of reconstructive surgery, wound healing, ageing process and even computer graphics.

Jamie said:  “I think this is a testament to the level of expertise that can be found amongst the staff within The School of Mathematics.”

Natalia won the Politics & International Relations prize for her paper about power structures, which used feminist theory to outline why establishing empathy for others makes it more difficult to commit violence against them.

“I came to Manchester because my grandmother is an alumnus – she studied medicine there in the 1940s, and I wanted to have the privilege to say we studied at the same institution,” said Natalia. “I really enjoyed my time at Manchester, and am hugely grateful for the opportunities I had there.”

This is a huge achievement for The University of Manchester and its students.