2026 RANK PRIZES FOR NUTRITION AND OPTOELECTRONICS ANNOUNCED

The winners of the 2026 Rank Prizes in Nutrition and Optoelectronics have been announced.

LONDON, Dec. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ --

Rank Prize in Nutrition

Professor David E. Salt (University of Nottingham) and Professor Martin Broadley (Rothamsted Research and University of Nottingham) are the winners of the 2026 Rank Prize for Nutrition. Fusing advances in high-throughput elemental profiling with genetics, their ground-breaking research has revealed how plants accumulate mineral nutrients and trace elements from the soil. By profiling soil and crop quality, their work is transforming dietary interventions in low and middle-income countries and enhancing nutrition and health outcomes for their citizens.

Professor John Mathers, the Chair of the Rank Prize Nutrition Committee, said that "the seminal research by Professors Salt and Broadley has shown that dietary mineral deficiencies, also known as "hidden hunger", can be overcome. Their demonstration that soil and plant mineral profiling can be used to inform efforts by governments and NGOs to better target dietary interventions is helping to improve the health of millions of people worldwide."

Rank Prize in Optoelectronics

Professor Susumu Noda (Kyoto University, Japan) is the winner of the 2026 Rank Prize for Optoelectronics. Over more than 25 years of dedicated research, he has developed a pioneering new form of semiconductor laser, the Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Laser, or PCSEL. The PCSEL combines the optical performance of more bulky laser systems with the efficiency, compactness, durability and integrability of smaller semiconductor lasers. The PCSEL is an ideal candidate for implementation in areas such as high-precision manufacturing, autonomous vehicles and space applications.

Professor Jonathan Knight of the Rank Prize Optoelectronics Committee, who led the nomination for the award, commented that "seeing Professor Noda develop this technology from the very earliest stages of basic research some 25 years ago through to being a challenger technology that is now ready for commercialisation has been extraordinary. PCSELs exhibit performance that enable new opportunities in several important application areas. Professor Noda is an outstanding awardee of the Rank Prize for Optoelectronics."

About Rank Prize

Founded in 1972 by the British industrialist and philanthropist Lord J. Arthur Rank, the prestigious Rank Prizes are awarded biennially in the fields of nutrition and optoelectronics for breakthrough research with real-world impact.

The Prizes will be awarded formally at an event in London in June 2026.

To find out more about the 2026 prizewinners, visit https://www.rankprize.org/prize/.   

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