Nicola Spaldin

Nicola Spaldin is a Professor and Chair of Materials Theory in the Department of Materials at ETH Zurich, a position she has held since 2010. She previously served as Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor in the Materials Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1997 to 2010. Spaldin has held numerous visiting professorships at institutions including Uppsala University, UC Berkeley, Cambridge University, and the Jawarhalal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.

Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley (1996) and a B.A. in Natural Sciences with First Class Honours from Cambridge University (1991).

Spaldin's research focuses on strongly correlated materials, materials chemistry, and electronic-structure theory, with particular emphasis on multiferroic and magnetoelectric materials. She has pioneered theoretical approaches to understanding the fundamental physics of complex materials, establishing foundational principles in the field of multiferroics. Her work bridges condensed matter physics and materials science, addressing both fundamental questions and potential applications of novel material phenomena.

Spaldin's extensive publication record includes approximately 200 papers with over 47,500 citations and an h-index of 85. Her research spans theoretical investigations of magnetoelectric coupling, dynamical multiferroic effects, ultrafast phenomena in materials, and the fundamental constraints on magnetic ferroelectricity. She has also authored the influential textbook "Magnetic Materials" (2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2010).

• Member, German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina) (2022)
• Europhysics Prize of the European Physical Society (2022)
• Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics (2022)
• Member, Austrian Academy of Sciences (2022)
• IUPAP Magnetism Award and Néel Medal (2021)
• Member, French Academy of Sciences (2021)
• Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist (2019)
• Foreign Member, National Academy of Engineering (USA) (2019)
• Fellow of the Royal Society (UK) (2017)

Spaldin has served in significant leadership roles including Founding Lead Editor of Physical Review Research, Coordinator of the ETH Materials Department BS curriculum revision project "The Materials Scientist 2030, Who is She?" and Director of the International Center for Materials Research at UC Santa Barbara (2007-2010). She has also served on numerous advisory boards including the ERC Scientific Council and various international research institutions. Her laboratory at ETH Zurich focuses on theoretical materials science, particularly computational approaches to understanding complex material properties and developing new theoretical frameworks for multiferroic phenomena.