St Hilda's College
We’re delighted to share that Professor Julia Yeomans OBE FRS has been awarded the 2025 Institute of Physics Paul Dirac Medal and Prize.
The award recognises Julia’s pioneering contributions to theoretical physics, particularly in the field of active matter (systems made up of many small components, such as cells or bacteria, that use energy to move and organise themselves). Her work has helped explain how these systems behave and why they often form beautiful, swirling patterns that resemble turbulence on a tiny scale.
Working with colleagues and students in Oxford and beyond, Julia has shown how physical principles can help us understand living tissues, from the way cells move and divide to how structures form in embryos. Her research has opened new ways of thinking about the physics of life.
Julia said:
“It’s an honour to receive the Dirac Medal, which celebrates the power of using mathematics to describe reality. This recognition is also a tribute to my collaborators and students for their generosity in sharing their insights.”
The Dirac Medal is one of the most prestigious awards in physics, named after the Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Paul Dirac. Julia joins several other Oxford physicists who have received the medal in recent years.
We’re proud to celebrate this achievement and the inspiration Julia continues to provide to students and colleagues at St Hilda’s.