RISE Leaders and RISE Fellows were also honoured at the RISE Awards ceremony, run by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of EPSRC.

Shadbolt who completed his PhD at the Centre for Quantum Photonics won a British Science Festival Media Fellowship hosted by The Conversation. The other winners of the Rising Stars awards were Dr Piers Barnes from Imperial College London, and Dr Marianne Ellis from the University of Bath. The three winners receive prizes worth £21,000 in total.

The winners were chosen after pitching to an eminent panel of judges. All of the Rising Stars, who are at early stages of their careers, were nominated by RISE Leaders for their qualities of leadership, communication skills and ability to inspire others. Shadbolt was nominated by Jeremy O’Brien, Professorial Research Fellow in Physics and Electrical Engineering at the University of Bristol. Professor O’Brien was named a RISE Leader earlier this year.

Professor Philip Nelson, Chief Executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, said: ‘The wealth of talent the RISE Awards shows is truly impressive and heartening. These are the strong, inspirational leaders who can ensure the long-term health of UK science and engineering.’