Sir Richard researches the physics, materials science and engineering of semiconductor devices made with carbon-based semiconductors in the Department of Physics. The grant will enable him to research a new class of semiconductors. He said: “This project will explore the electronic properties of organic semiconductors that have an unpaired electron to give net magnetic spin. This is based on our recent discovery that this unpaired electron can couple strongly to light, allowing very efficient luminescence in LEDs. We will explore novel combinations of optical excited states with magnetic spin states. This will allow new designs for LEDs and solar cells, and opportunities to control the ground state spin polarisation in spintronic devices.”