A Lancaster physicist has been awarded a £3 million Green Future Fellowship by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Dr Rostislav Mikhaylovskiy is among 13 Green Future Fellows awarded £3 million each to scale ambitious ideas and cutting-edge engineering over the next decade into commercially viable technologies capable of making a lasting impact on the climate crisis.

He was awarded his Fellowship for his project on “Terahertz magnetic recording for green data storage technology”. Data centres use 1.5% of all electricity produced, with up to 40% of that electricity used on their cooling.

Dr Mikhaylovskiy is developing a new type of memory that uses extremely short bursts of terahertz radiation – light pulses a thousand times faster than today’s gigahertz (5G) technology. These light pulses flip the direction of small magnets that store bits of data and because these pulses match the magnets energy, they can switch them without creating heat which could lead to much faster, cooler and more energy-efficient data storage in the future.

He said: “I am very pleased and honoured to be awarded this unique fellowship. In contrast to many other personal grants, Green Future Fellowship provides 10 years long support, needed to develop new technologies of the future. The development of THz magnetic recording technology requires a comprehensive programme comprising pure research activities through to building and testing prototype magnetic recording device. The long-term support offered by Green Future Fellowship scheme is very compatible with this aim and provides an exceptional opportunity to realise the benefits of energy efficient THz data storage.”

Supported by a £150 million long-term investment from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Green Future Fellowship was established to build bold solutions to climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience.

Baroness Brown of Cambridge DBE FREng FRS FMedSci, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Chair of the Green Future Fellowship Steering Group, said: “The Green Future Fellowships support innovators who are pushing engineering boundaries, building bold solutions to climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience. The inaugural Green Future Fellows are pioneering truly advanced technologies and engineering solutions to protect the world we live in.”

Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “The Royal Academy of Engineering’s Green Future Fellowships provide academics, entrepreneurs, innovators and engineers, the space and time to transform their cutting-edge ideas into scalable, commercially viable, technologies to secure a greener, fairer future.”

UK Science Minister Lord Vallance said: “Investing in this work reflects the Government's wider commitment to make the UK the natural home for the best science that we all benefit from, and our ambition to make the UK a clean energy superpower."

At least 50 Green Future Fellows will be appointed over five years. Successful applicants become a Green Future Fellow for the 10-year award duration, receiving up to £3 million alongside non-financial support such as training, mentorship, access to the Academy’s network of exceptional innovators, and additional tailored support.