Nobel Prize medal donated to Cambridge University

The Nobel Prize medal, which was awarded to Prof David Thouless in 2016, has been donated to Trinity Hall at the University of Cambridge by his family. Prof Thouless, who studied at Trinity Hall, was honored with the Nobel Prize in Physics for his theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter. Sadly, he passed away in 2019, but his family decided to donate the prestigious medal to his former college as a tribute to the impact that Trinity Hall had on his life. The senior tutor of the college, Michael Sutherland, expressed his hope that this generous gift would serve as an inspiration for future generations of Trinity Hall physicists. The Physics Prize in 2016 was shared by three British-born scientists, including David Thouless, for their groundbreaking discoveries about unusual forms of matter. The prize money of £727,000 was divided among the three scientists. This recognition came more than 60 years after Prof Thouless completed his undergraduate degree at Trinity Hall. On Thursday, his wife Margaret and other family members presented his medal and diploma to the college, with the intention of having them displayed for the benefit of future scholars. Prof David Thouless was also honored as an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall in 2014. Throughout his career, he had the opportunity to work at various academic institutions, including Cambridge, Yale, and the University of Washington in Seattle, USA. Dr Helen Thouless, speaking on behalf of the family, emphasized her father's fondness for Trinity Hall and the lifelong friendships he made there. She explained that the family's decision to donate the Nobel Prize medal to the college was driven by their desire to share and display it, and Trinity Hall seemed like the perfect place for this purpose.