International prize for KTH thesis
Dr. Magnus Johnson, at the KTH Div. of Corrosion Science, has been awarded the 2007 Morris Cohen Award in recognition of his employing new approaches to the subject in his doctoral dissertation ”Vibrational sum frequency and infrared reflection/absorption spectroscopy studies of the air/liquid and liquid/metal interfaces”.
The Prize is given annually in support of this important subject area – corrosion and electrochemistry – by the Electrochemical Society, USA.
Johnson´s great feat consists of his devising and employing an entirely new and sophisticated variety of surface spectroscopy. This is called ”vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy”. As he managed to combine this technology with so-called ”infrared reflection spectroscopy”, Magnus Johnson demonstrated that detailed information may be had, at molecular level, about the interfaces between metals/liquid and liquid/atmosphere. Both of these are critical in the development of corrosion in metals.
Professor Christofer Leygraf, KTH, has been tutoring the work, jointly with Professor Steve Baldelli, University of Houston, USA. The initial efforts, and practical applications, were carried out at the KTH Div. of Surface Chemistry in Stockholm. Next October Magnus Johnson will accept his Prize in Washington, DC.
This is the second time a doctoral student in corrosion science at KTH has been awarded this distinction. In 1996 the same honour was bestowed upon present KTH Senior Scientist Ms. Inger Odnevall Wallinder.
Olle Blomqvist