James Monro of The Australian National University and George Sanamyan of the University of Adelaide have been awarded the 2026 AIP Thomas H Laby Medal, recognising outstanding Honours or Masters research in physics.

The Thomas H Laby Medal is awarded annually for the best Honours or Masters thesis submitted by a student from an Australian university. This year, the medal has been awarded to two recipients.

James Monro, Australian National University

James has been awarded the medal for his thesis:

“Searching for Axion-Like Particles with Perturbed Alkali-Noble Comagnetometers”

His research explores the search for axion-like particles, hypothetical particles that could help physicists investigate some of the fundamental questions in particle physics.

George Sanamyan, University of Adelaide

George has been awarded the medal for his thesis:

“Dark Matter in Randall-Sundrum Model”

His research examines dark matter within the Randall-Sundrum model, contributing to theoretical efforts to understand one of the major unresolved questions in modern physics.

Congratulations to James and George on this recognition of their early research achievements.

James and George are among 11 members recognised with 2026 AIP Awards for outstanding accomplishments in research, leadership, education and communication. Read more about the 2026 AIP Award recipients.

The 2026 AIP Awards will be presented at AIP Congress 2026 in Sydney this December.