Paul Midgley is a materials scientist who has developed impressive transmission electron microscopy techniques for studying the structure and function of materials at high spatial resolution, in two or three dimensions. His innovations have allowed electron microscopy to remain at the forefront of materials research at the nanoscale.

Paul is pioneering the use of electron tomography — an extension of traditional transmission electron microscopy — beyond the nanometre scale. By combining specialised types of tomography with spectroscopy or electron holography, Paul has vastly improved the three-dimensional characterisation of diverse categories of materials, including heterogeneous catalysts and semiconductors.

He has also extended the application of precession electron diffraction, a technique used for determining the structure of inorganic crystals, to materials with particularly valuable properties. These include manganite — a mineral that exhibits colossal magnetoresistance, enabling it to dramatically change its electrical resistance in the presence of a magnetic field.