Prof. Cowburn has research interests in nanotechnology and its application to magnetism, electronics and optics.  Before returning to Cambridge in 2010 he held positions at the CNRS Paris, University of Durham and Imperial College London.  He is the founder of three start-up companies and the inventor of the anti-counterfeiting technology ‘Laser Surface Authentication’.  He has had over 60 patents granted and is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences.  He is the winner of the 2003 GSK Westminster Medal and Prize, the 2006 Degussa Science to Business Award, the 2007 Hermes International Technology Award, the 2008 Institute of Physics Paterson Medal and Prize and the 2016 Royal Society Paterson Medal.  He was one of the 2015 IEEE Magnetics Society Distinguished Lecturers.  He has held two ERC grants – an Advanced Investigator Grant and a Proof of Concept award.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society.