Brian Kiraly is an assistant professor of experimental condensed matter physics at the University of Nottingham. His research focuses on the atomic-scale characterisation of layered and atomically thin materials using scanning tunnelling microscopy. Brian has worked on the synthesis of two-dimensional materials under ultra-high vacuum for nearly a decade, with his most recent efforts dedicated to atomically thin magnetic monolayers. Brian has also studied the magnetism and magnetic properties of single atomic species on the surfaces of crystals, demonstrating the first bistable atomic valency.