Israel Ibukun Olaniyan receives the Helmholtz Doctoral Award 2026
Dr Ibukun Olaniyan receives the award by the President of the Helmholtz Association, Prof. Martin Keller. © Helmholtz / Oliver Walterscheid
Dr. Israel Ibukun Olaniyan received the award for his outstanding doctoral research on "Ferroelectricity at the nanoscale in epitaxial BaTiO3 on silicon". © Helmholtz / Oliver Walterscheid
At Helmholtz, more than 8,000 doctoral candidates conduct research. Eleven of them have now been honored for their original and outstanding work, among them Dr Israel Ibukun Olaniyan from the HZB. His doctoral thesis "Ferroelectricity at the nanoscale in epitaxial BaTiO3 on silicon" in the group of Professor Catherine Dubourdieu represents a step towards a new nanoelectronics based on topological defects, that can potentially help to create an energy efficient information technology.
Ibukun Olaniyan completed his PhD under supervision by Professor Catherine Dubourdieu, producing outstanding results that have been published in high-impact journals.
“Ibukun embodies all the qualities of a researcher: insatiable curiosity, a desire to understand surprising results that lead to new discoveries, creativity, tireless work in a team spirit, rigor and perseverance, and an extraordinary drive to succeed,” says Catherine Dubourdieu.
“His human qualities have made him a highly praised team member. These qualities are also reflected in his mentoring activities for high school pupils in Nigeria during his PhD time through monthly online meetings and online tutoring classes in physics and chemistry to support those in need. He is undeniably a role model for many children and students,” she adds.
In his doctoral thesis, Ibukun Olaniyan investigated polar textures in ferroelectrics: “The scientific results of Ibukun’s doctoral work are outstanding. He advanced the field of polar textures in ferroelectrics with first-time realizations of topological polar states on silicon, including chiral ones, using a compound that does not contain toxic elements like lead,” explains Catherine Dubourdieu: “Ibukun’s work represents a step towards future topotronics, a new nanoelectronics based on topological defects that could provide a change in paradigm for addressing the energy-related challenges in information technology”.
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- Patterns of polar vortices in lead-free superlattices on siliconA team at HZB has, for the first time, reported polar vortices in (BaTiO3/SrTiO3)10 superlattices on silicon. These results expand the range of materials and substrates on which polar topological textures can occur and open up new options for incorporating complex ferroelectric states into silicon-based technologies.