The European Physical Society Condensed Matter Division is proud to announce the award of the 2008 EPS CMD Europhysics Prize to Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov of the University of Manchester for discovering and isolating a single free-standing atomic layer of  carbon (graphene) and elucidating its remarkable electronic properties.

Andre Geim is a Fellow of the Royal Society and Langworthy Research Professor  and Director of the  Manchester Centre for Mesoscience and Nanotechnology. He is,  according to Web of Science, responsible for initiating two research fronts   (graphene and gecko tape).

Kostya Novoselov is a Royal Society Research Fellow, and was recently one of only 200 young researchers from over 9000 applicants to be awarded a European Research Council, Starting Grant.
The EPS Europhysics Prize is awarded  for Outstanding Achievement in Condensed Matter Physics, and has become one of the most prestigious awards for condensed matter physics in Europe. Many Europhysics Prize winners have subsequently been awarded the Nobel Prize in recognition of their achievements, including the 2007 Nobel Prize winners both in Physics (Albert Fert and Peter Grünberg) and in Chemistry (Gerhard Ertl).
The electrons in grsphene are strictly two-dimensional and have very special properties, as predicted by theory. Geim and Novoselov were first both to discover how to fabricate graphene films, and also to demonstrate several of their key novel properties. Their work has provided inspiration for intensive experimental and theoretical research all over the world.

The long citation for the EPS CMD Europhysics Prize can be found at http://cmd.epsdivisions.org/prizes