physics

Konstantin Novoselov

Konstantin Novoselov is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Konstantin Novoselov rather than just read about it. In short: Sir Konstantin Sergeevich Novoselov (Russian: Константи́н Серге́евич Новосёлов, IPA: [kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ nəvɐˈsʲɵləf]; born 23 August 1974) is a Russian–British physicist. His work on graphene with Andre Geim earned them the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010.

Key takeaways

Konstantin Novoselov belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Konstantin Novoselov to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Konstantin Novoselov from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sir Konstantin Sergeevich Novoselov (Russian: Константи́н Серге́евич Новосёлов, IPA: [kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ nəvɐˈsʲɵləf]; born 23 August 1974) is a Russian–British physicist. His work on graphene with Andre Geim earned them the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. Novoselov is a professor at the Centre for Advanced 2D Materials, National University of Singapore and is also the Langworthy Professor of the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester, and serves as President of Constructor University in Bremen, Germany.

Education Konstantin Novoselov was born in Nizhny Tagil, Soviet Union, in 1974. He graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology with a MSc degree in 1997, and was awarded a PhD from the Radboud University of Nijmegen in 2004 for work supervised by Andre Geim. Novoselov uses the nickname "Kostya" (diminutive of the name Konstantin).

Career

Novoselov has published 475 peer-reviewed research papers on several topics including mesoscopic superconductivity (Hall magnetometry) as of January 2024 subatomic movements of magnetic domain walls, the discovery of gecko tape and graphene., Kostya Novoselov participated in the Graphene Flagship project – a €1 billion initiative of the European Commission – and was featured in the official promotion movie of the project. Novoselov was the first Director of the National Graphene Institute and sits on the International Scientific Advisory Committee of Australia's ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies. Novoselov was also a recipient of a starting grant from the European Research Council. Kostya Novoselov made it into a shortlist of scientists with multiple hot papers for the years 2007–2008 (shared second place with 13 hot papers) and 2009 (5th place with 12 hot papers). In 2014 Kostya Novoselov was included in the list of the most highly cited researchers. He was also named among the 17 hottest researchers worldwide—"individuals who have published the greatest number of hot papers during 2012–2013". Novoselov joined the National University of Singapore's Centre for Advanced 2D Materials in 2019, making him the first Nobel laureate to join a Singaporean university. In 2021, he pioneered with Antonio H. Castro Neto a new research centre at the National University of Singapore called IFIM. With $200 million in funding over 10 years provided by the Ministry of Education and NUS, the centre will work on making ground-breaking discoveries into what are called functional intelligent materials.

Awards and honours

2007 Nicholas Kurti European Science Prize "to promote and recognise the novel work of young scientists working in the fields of Low Temperatures and/or High Magnetic Fields." 2008 Technology Review-35 Young Innovator 2008 University of Manchester Researcher of the Year. 2008 Europhysics Prize, jointly with Geim, "for discovering and isolating a single free-standing atomic layer of carbon (graphene) and elucidating its remarkable electronic properties.", 2008 International Union of Pure and Applied Physics Young Scientist Prize, "for his contribution in the discovery of graphene and for pioneering studies of its extraordinary properties." 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Andre Geim, "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the material graphene." Novoselov was the youngest Nobel laureate in physics since Brian Josephson in 1973, and in any field since Rigoberta Menchú (Peace) in 1992. 2010 Knight Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion 2010 Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (HonFRSC) 2010 Honorary Professor of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology 2011 Honorary Doctorate from the University of Manchester 2011 Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics (HonFInstP) 2011 Elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) 2011 W. L. Bragg Lecture Prize from the International Union of Crystallography "... for his work on two-dimensional atomic crystals” 2012 Knight Bachelor in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to science., 2012 Chosen among "Britain's 50 New Radicals" by NESTA and The Observer 2012 The Kohn Prize Lecture “...for development of new class of materials: two-dimensional atomic crystals” 2013 Appointed Langworthy Professor of Physics, University of Manchester. 2013 Leverhulme Medal (Royal Society) "...for revolutionary work on graphene, other two-dimensional crystals and their heterostructures that has great potential for a number of applications, from electronics to energy" 2013 Awarded Honorary Freedom of the City of Manchester "for his groundbreaking work on graphene", see List of Freedom of the City recipients 2013 Elected a foreign member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 2014 2nd place in the Discovery Section of the National Science Photography Competition. 2014 included in a list of the most highly cited researchers. He was also named among the 17 hottest researchers worldwide – "individuals who have published the greatest number of hot papers during 2012–2013". 2014 awarded the Onsager Medal. 2015 elected to be a member of the Academia Europaea. 2016 awarded the Carbon Medal. 2016 awarded the Dalton Medal. 2019 elected a foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences 2019 elected to be a member of the Asia Pacific Academy of Materials 2019 Otto Warburg Prize and Lecture by The Otto Warburg Chemistry Foundation "for the discovery of the unusual quantum properties of one atom thick two-dimensional materials" 2022 awarded John von Neumann Professor title. The title is awarded jointly by the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) and the John von Neumann Computer Society 2023 elected a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences 2022 Fray International Sustainability Award 2023 Kublai Khan Medal of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences 2023 Nano-Materials Science Award 2024 Contribution to Knowledge Platinum Medal Award (joint with Andre Geim) from the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining 2026 EPFL has named Professor Konstantin Novoselov as the first-ever EPFL Fellow, inaugurating a new honorary title created to recognize eminent scientific personalities of exceptional international stature. Professor Konstantin Novoselov is affiliated as an EPFL Fellow with the Institute of Physics in the School of Basic Sciences 2026 Professor Sir Konstantin Novoselov FRS has been elected as a Singapore National Academy of Science (SNAS) Fellow

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Konstantin Novoselov

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Konstantin Novoselov claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Konstantin Novoselov before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Konstantin Novoselov ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Konstantin Novoselov

In research: Konstantin Novoselov appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Konstantin Novoselov in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Konstantin Novoselov is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1974 births, 21st-century British inventors, Academics of the University of Manchester, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Konstantin Novoselov outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Konstantin Novoselov” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Konstantin Novoselov in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Konstantin Novoselov means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Konstantin Novoselov out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Konstantin Novoselov in simple terms?

Why does Konstantin Novoselov matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Konstantin Novoselov?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Konstantin Novoselov.