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2025 Dan Walls Medal awarded to Professor Eric Le Ru

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News & events

2025 Dan Walls Medal awarded to Professor Eric Le Ru

27 August, 2025

Professor Eric Le Ru


 

The New Zealand Institute of Physics (NZIP) Dan Walls Medal for 2025 has been awarded to Professor Eric Le Ru.

This biennial medal recognises the physicist working in New Zealand whose predominantly New Zealand-based research has had the greatest national or international impact.

Commenting on the award, NZIP President Professor Richard Easther said that Professor Le Ru was a world leader in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), plasmonics, single-molecule detection and electromagnetic scattering.

'Eric's pioneering bi-analyte SERS method provided the first unequivocal proof that SERS can detect single molecules, and his electromagnetic theory papers established the quantitative framework used across the field,' Richard said. 

‘Spanning theory, experiment and commercialisation, Eric’s “100 % NZ-made” research has put Aotearoa at the forefront of SERS and plasmonics, underpinning emerging ultra-sensitive analytical and diagnostic technologies worldwide.'

Eric is a world leader in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), plasmonics, single-molecule detection and electromagnetic scattering

NZIP President Professor Richard Easther

Institute Director Professor Nicola Gaston said that Professor Le Ru’s research had had a major international impact.

‘SERS now engages thousands of research groups worldwide,’ she said. ‘Eric is among New Zealand's most highly cited physicists and we’re extremely proud that he’s been part of the MacDiarmid Institute as an Investigator since 2010, and as a postdoc since even earlier - 2004.'

Nicola said that Eric was one of three Principal Investigators within the Institute who last year made the move from scientist to start-up C-suite.

‘Eric is committing most of his time as Chief Science Officer at Marama Labs, a company he co-founded in 2019 with two other MacDiarmid Institute alumni, Dr Brendan Darby (his PhD student at the time) and Dr Matthias Meyer.'

She said Eric is now an Emeritus Investigator with the Institute.

 Read more here about Eric’s move to start-up C-suite.

Eric is among New Zealand's most highly cited physicists and we’re extremely proud that he’s been part of the MacDiarmid Institute as an Investigator since 2010, and as a postdoc from even earlier - 2004.

Director Professor Nicola Gaston