Durham University expert receives top honour

Durham University expert receives top honour. A Durham University expert, David Hoyle, has won a prestigious national academic honour for his research in rheology - the study of soft matter. The award, the Vernon Harrison Annual Doctoral Prize 2011, is conferred by the British Society of Rheology and is open to any person who has successfully submitted a thesis on rheology from higher education establishments throughout the UK. Hoyle, who is a Knowledge Transfer Fellow within the Department of Chemistry and a member of the Durham Centre for Soft Matter, secured a coveted first prize award which recognises the originality and quality of his thesis. Hoyle's award winning thesis focuses on different types of polymers and how they flow and stretch at different velocities and temperatures. Hoyle said: "The study of rheology or soft matter, as it is often referred, is a vital area for delivering costs savings and improving efficiency in industry. I am therefore absolutely delighted to be recognised in this important area with a national award decided upon by the Council of the British Society of Rheology.