Michael Finnis

Finnis was born in Margate. He studied natural sciences at the University of Cambridge, where he specialised in theoretical physics. He remained in Cambridge for his doctoral research, working with Volker Heine on condensed matter physics. His PhD investigated interatomic forces in simple metals. He started working on tight-binding models, and that the total bonding energy of transition metals scaled with the square root of the coordination number (z). == Research and career ==

Finnis spent fourteen years in the Atomic Energy Research Establishment. He developed theoretical and computational approaches to support the nuclear power industry. When he started working at the AERE, he used an IBM System/360, and eventually a Cray-1. Finnis eventually moved to the Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung, where he started working on the science of interfaces. In 2006, Finnis joined Imperial College London, where he co-founded the Thomas Young Centre for the Theory and Simulation of Materials. His research involves atom-scale computational models to understand the electronic and optical properties of materials. == Awards and honours ==

• 2005 Institute of Physics Born Medal • 2017 Institute of Physics Nevill Mott Medal • 2021 Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society == Selected publications ==