This year, the award was presented to Dr Mathew Anker, a senior lecturer in inorganic chemistry at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, for his transformative work.
Dr Anker and his team achieved the four-electron reduction of benzene, a reaction long considered chemically impossible. This breakthrough opens a new frontier in benzene reduction chemistry, paving the way for new materials with unique electronic and magnetic properties that could transform data storage, spintronic devices, and quantum computing.
Quantum mechanics predicts that adding four electrons to benzene and incorporating metal atoms could produce materials with extraordinary characteristics. Yet, the stability of the benzene molecule has made this process seemingly unattainable—until now.
“With our innovative approach, we’ve developed a simple and accessible method to incorporate benzene tetra-anions with metals into materials. This brings us one step closer to realising revolutionary applications and opens exciting possibilities for the next generation of computing memory storage.”
The discovery grew out of research originally aimed at a very different goal.
“The team and I were developing highly reactive organolanthanide complexes for the low-energy activation of nitrogen, towards a green process for making ammonia fertiliser.
“We found that the organolanthanide complexes we were developing were reactive enough to activate benzene.”
Now established as a researcher and a highly respected supervisor of postgraduate students, Dr Anker’s path into chemistry began with his own inspirational teachers.
“I would have been 10 or 11. Mr Peters was just a great teacher, and that kind of got me interested in science.”
Despite an early fascination with chemistry, his first ambitions weren’t academic.
“I went to university with all the ideas of, you know, going and making an awful lot of money,” Dr Anker jokes. “But at the end of my degree, my supervisor said, ‘Matt, you’re quite good at this, you should think about doing a PhD.’”
That encouragement came from Professor Mike Hill at the University of Bath, who became an important mentor.
“He was a really inspiring academic, really knew the nuts and bolts of science, I finished my PhD with him in 2017 and loved every second of it.”
A chance meeting at a conference then led him to Aotearoa New Zealand, where he took up a postdoctoral position at Te Herenga Waka with the intention of staying just a year.
“A year and a half later, I was made permanent at the University, and here I am, still loving every second.”
Reflecting on receiving the Hamilton Award, Dr Anker says, “It feels good, very humbling and incredible proud. It was a bit of a ‘throw my hat in the ring, probably won’t win’ situation.”
But Dr Anker is quick to credit his team for the success.
“At the end of the day, I’m more like a captain who just makes sure everyone’s moving in the right direction. I couldn’t be doing anything that I do without the people who’ve come before me. I’ve been very lucky to have had fantastic mentors and students. We get there together.”