In a monumental achievement for the Garden State’s scientific community, Rutgers University physicist Eva Andrei has been named a 2026 Kavli Laureate in Nanoscience. The honor, considered one of the most prestigious in the world, makes Andrei the first Rutgers professor to receive the award and the only 2026 laureate based in New Jersey.
The Kavli Prize, awarded every two years by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, recognizes foundational research that transforms our understanding of the “big, the small, and the complex.” Andrei shares the $1 million prize with fellow scientists Pablo Jarillo-Herrero of MIT and Allan H. MacDonald of the University of Texas at Austin for their pioneering contributions to the field of “twistronics.”
Andrei’s work centers on graphene—a material just one atom thick. Her laboratory at Rutgers was the first to demonstrate that by stacking two sheets of graphene and applying a slight “twist” between them, researchers could fundamentally alter the material’s electronic properties.
“Imagine a single material that you could reprogram with a battery,” Andrei said. “Turn the voltage up a little and it becomes a superconductor. Turn it differently and it becomes an insulator or a magnet. That’s what magic-angle twisted graphene lets us do. It’s a kind of quantum Swiss Army knife and the twist is what makes it possible.”
This discovery has profound implications for the future of technology, with the potential to revolutionize how we build:
- Ultrafast computer chips: Enabling more efficient and powerful computing.
- Medical imaging sensors: Creating highly accurate diagnostic tools.
- Energy-efficient power grids: Leveraging superconductivity to transmit energy with zero resistance.
The recognition underscores the strength of New Jersey’s research infrastructure. A “true daughter of Rutgers,” Andrei earned her doctoral degree at the university in 1982 and has been a cornerstone of the Department of Physics and Astronomy since 1987. Her career trajectory—which includes early work at the renowned Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill—highlights the state’s long-standing role as a hub for groundbreaking physics research.
“Eva’s exceptional accomplishments represent the pinnacle of what we can do and show that continuing, even expanding support from Rutgers will drive future ground-breaking discoveries on the banks of the Raritan,” John Hughes, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers said.
Andrei’s research group is already looking toward the next horizon, hunting for new phases of matter and working to build the conceptual frameworks that will define the next generation of quantum engineering. For New Jersey, her achievement serves as a testament to the state’s ability to foster international-caliber innovation.
Andrei and her co-laureates will be honored in September during a formal ceremony in Oslo, Norway, presided over by the Norwegian Royal Family.
