Radha Boya

2026 United Kingdom Award Finalist — Faculty

Radha Boya

Current Position:
Professor of Nanoscience, Royal Society University Research Fellow

Institution:
The University of Manchester

Discipline:
Condensed Matter Physics

Recognised for: Co-developing angstrom-scale capillaries with two-dimensional materials to control and study molecular-scale spaces, unlocking new pathways for separating molecules and nanoscale sensing.

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Angstrom-scale fluidics and nanofluidics, nanoscience, 2D materials and heterostructures, iontronics and ionic memory devices, molecular and ion selectivity

Previous Positions:

  • PhD, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, India (Advisor: G U Kulkarni)
  • Indo-US Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University (Advisor: Chad A Mirkin)
  • Marie Curie International Incoming Fellow, The University of Manchester, UK (Advisor: Sir Andre Geim)
  • Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, The University of Manchester, UK
  • Royal Society University Research Fellow & Kathleen Ollerenshaw Fellow, The University of Manchester, UK
  • Professor of Nanoscience, The University of Manchester, UK

Research Summary:

Traditional theories predict how molecules and ions should behave in confined spaces, but researchers could not test these predictions at the smallest atomic scales until now. Radha Boya, PhD, and collaborators have developed ultra-thin "capillaries" from layered materials, like graphene, that form narrow channels only a few atoms wide. In these tiny spaces, water and gases behave unexpectedly — water flows incredibly fast and ions separate in new ways, letting these channels serve as model systems for neural signalling at brain synapses. Boya’s work enables innovative technologies including brain-inspired computing and precise molecular filters.

“At the ångström scale confinement, where water, ions, and molecules behave in entirely new ways, we glimpse the hidden physics and chemistry to design selectivity rules for molecular and ion separation, and build ionic memory devices. I am hugely honored and humbled to be a Blavatnik honoree. I am grateful to my mentors, collaborators and dedicate this recognition to my past and present research group members.”

Key Publications:

  1. A. Ismail, G-H Nam et al., B. Radha*, “Programmable memristors with two-dimensional nanofluidic channels”, Nature Communications (2025).
  2. P. Robin et al., A. K. Geim, B. Radha*, L. Bocquet*, “Long-term memory and synapse-like dynamics of ionic carriers in two-dimensional nanofluidic channels”, Science (2023).
  3. N. Ronceray*, Y. You et al., B. Radha*, A. Radenovic*, “Liquid-activated quantum emission from native hBN defects for nanofluidic sensing”, Nature Materials (2023).
  4. A. Keerthi, S. Goutham, et al., B. Radha*, “Water friction in nanofluidic channels made from two-dimensional crystals”, Nature Communications (2021).

Other Honors:

2024 ChemSocRev Pioneering Lectureship – Royal society of chemistry
2022 Analytical Chemistry Young Innovator Award – American Chemical Society
2021 Philip Leverhulme Prize in Physics – Leverhulme Trust
2021 Fellow – Royal Society of Chemistry
2020 Marlow Award – Royal Society of Chemistry
2019 Starting Grant – European Research Council
2018 Kathleen Ollerenshaw Fellowship – University of Manchester
2018 Royal Society University Research Fellowship – Royal Society
2018 L’Oréal-UNESCO International Rising Talent – L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO
2017 “Innovators Under 35” – MIT Technology Review’s Global list
2017 L’Oréal-UNESCO UK & Ireland Women in Science Fellow – L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO

In the Media:

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