About ClaritySensors

Hayden began his academic career at Loughborough University, completing an MChem before moving to the University of Cambridge for his MRes and PhD. He specialises in perovskite-based X-ray detectors, completing his doctoral research in 2023. His work was later recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering following his presentation at the UK Houses of Parliament in a showcase of the UK’s emerging scientific talent.

Following his PhD, Hayden co-founded Clarity Sensors to translate cutting edge advances in perovskite semiconductors into real-world applications across medical imaging, industrial inspection, and security screening. As CEO, he has secured a broad portfolio of academic and commercial funding to de-risk and advance the technology, including competitive university-based grants from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Henry Royce Institute, and Cambridge Enterprise.

Hayden also led Clarity Sensors’ successful application to the European Innovation Council (EIC) Transition programme to accelerate the company’s technical development and commercial growth. He is committed to building a culture that combines scientific and engineering excellence with pragmatic, fast-paced execution, and is focused on guiding Clarity Sensors as it scales its team, deepens commercial partnerships, and brings second generation photon-counting detector technologies to market.

Sam is Professor of Energy Materials and Optoelectronics at the University of Cambridge. He is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Clarity Sensors, a spin-out company from his research group, and also co-founder of Swift Solar and not-for-profit Sustain/Ed. He is a TED Fellow and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and both the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics.

Sam graduated from the University of Adelaide in 2007 with a BA (German and Applied Mathematics), BSc Hons (Physics and Physical Chemistry) and a University Medal. He completed his PhD as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, receiving the 2012 Institute of Physics Roy Thesis Prize. From 2012-2014, he was a Junior Research Fellow at Oxford University and Worcester College, Oxford, before holding a Marie Curie Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2014-2016).

Sam’s research group at Cambridge (established 2017) has made groundbreaking developments in emerging semiconductors for photovoltaics, lighting and detectors. He has published 290 research papers with >75,000 citations and has led projects totalling over £25M (£15M as PI) including from the European Research Council and UKRI. For this work, Sam has received the 2018 Henry Moseley Award and Medal from the Institute of Physics, the 2019 Marlow Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry, the 2021 IEEE Stuart Wenham Award, the 2021 Leverhulme Prize in Physics, the 2021 EES Lectureship, the 2022 Lem Prize, 2024 Blavatnik Awards in the UK Finalist and the 2025 Nevill Mott Award and Medal from the Institute of Physics.

Stuart Evans is our Executive Chair and Chief Financial Officer. An experienced entrepreneurial CEO, he was one of our co-founders having been introduced to Prof Sam Stranks by Cambridge Enterprise. Educated at the University of Cambridge (MA Mathematics) and Harvard Business School (MBA), he started his career with IBM and McKinsey. Stuart has raised over £50mn from top tier industrial and financial investors, supplemented by significant grant funding. His breakthrough technology start ups include: Cotag International (electronic tagging), Plastic Logic (flexible electronics), Novacem (green cement), and Reduse (reusing rather than recycling paper). He was twice named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum in Davos, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.