APPOINTMENTS & AWARDS
EPS introduces new Lise Meitner prize
The Nuclear Physics Board of the European Physical Society has created a new prize - called the Lise Meitner prize - for nuclear science with sponsorship from the company Eurisys Mesures. The award consists of a medal, a diploma and Ý5000 in cash.
The first recipients, for the year 2000, are Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Muenzenberg of GSI in Darmstadt and Yuri Ts Oganessian of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions in Dubna for their unique work over a long period on the synthesis of heavy elements, which has led to the discovery of elements in the nuclear charge region 102 to 105 (dubnium), as well as bohrium (107), hassium (108) and meitnerium (109).
These discoveries involved extensive developments of experimental techniques and the use of a specific reaction mechanism - the "cold" fusion of two heavy nuclei. Measurements of these elements provide an important cornerstone to the concept of deformed shells in nuclei, the existence of which is responsible for the increased stability of the new nuclei.
The prize was given to Peter Armbruster at the XXXIX International Winter Meeting on Nuclear Physics in Bormio in January. The other two laureates will be honoured at the Europhysics meeting on East-West Collaboration in Nuclear Science in Sandanski, Bulgaria, in May.
See http://fidabs.ing.unibs.it/eps-npb/ and http://www.eurisysmesures.com/.
Alain Connes of the Institut des Hautes
Etudes Scientifiques, Bures-sur-Yvette, and the Collége de France, Paris, is awarded the
prestigious Crafoord prize, which is administered by the Royal Swedish Academy of
Sciences, for "his penetrating work on the theory of operator algebras and for having
been a founder of non-commutative geometry". This has provided powerful methods for
theoretical physics. The prize will be presented by the King of Sweden on 26
September.
Swapan Chattopadhyay, previously head of Berkeley's Center
for Beam Physics, becomes Associate Director of the Thomas Jefferson National
Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) in Newport News, Virginia.
Chattopadhyay came to Berkeley in 1974 as a graduate student. After receiving his PhD in 1982, he spent two years at CERN before returning to Berkeley, where he made major contributions to national and international projects. In 1987 he became leader of Berkeley Laboratory's Accelerator and Fusion Research Division's Exploratory Studies Group, establishing the Center for Beam Physics in December 1991. Under his leadership, CBP researchers have been at the forefront of such technological breakthroughs as femtosecond X-ray generation and laser plasma beam acceleration.
At Jefferson Lab, Chattopadhyay will oversee research and development as well as operations of the main continuous electron beam accelerator facility (CEBAF), plus the lab's free electron laser facility, light sources programme, applied superconductivity and superconducting radiofrequency R&D centre, and its cryogenics and engineering programmes. He will also hold an appointment as the Governor's Distinguished CEBAF Professor of SURA (Southeastern Universities Research Association).
Super-awards
The Council of Superconductivity of the influential Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has recently established an IEEE award for continuing and significant contributions in the field of applied superconductivity for contributions "to the field...over more than 20 years, based on novel and innovative concepts".
The current recipients are:
David Larbalestier, Wisconsin, "For significant and
continuing contributions in the field of superconductive materials: leading to the
identification of microstructural features that resulted in dramatic increases in the
superconducting critical current density: in particular, for the identification and
optimization of magnetic flux pinning centres and the identification and minimization of
deleterious defects in superconducting wires and tapes".
Martin Nisenoff,
retired, formerly US Naval Research Laboratory, "For long and continuous service to the
superconductivity community as a scientist, program manager, activist and statesman;
elected three times to Applied Superconductivity Conference board, long-standing
member of IEEE's Committee on Superconductivity; three-decade career spanning
activities in Josephson junctions, SQUID applications, HTS filters and
cryocoolers".
Arnold Silver, retired, formerly TRW, "For significant and
continuing contributions in the field of superconductive electronics, both as a researcher
and as an R&D manager, including the invention of the superconductive Quantum
Interference Device (SQUID), which resulted in the development of ultrasensitive
magnetic sensors and is the basic building block for superconductive digital technology,
for inventing numerous other superconducting analogue and digital circuits and
subsystems, and for outstanding insight in promoting the use of superconducting
electronics in scientific, military and commercial applications".
John
Stekly, retired, formerly Intermagnetics General Corporation, "For significant and
continuing contributions in the field of superconducting magnet systems, and devices, in
particular the pioneering work in understanding, quantifying and applying the engineering
thermal stability requirements of superconducting magnets operating in boiling liquid
helium, known as the Stekly Criterion".
Kyoji Tachikawa, Tokai, "For
significant and continuing contributions in the field of superconducting materials: in
particular, the pioneering research in innovative and intelligent materials processing
techniques for the formation of superconducting wires and tapes, leading to the
development of new high-field superconductors that incorporate useful intermetallic
compounds".
Theodore Van Duzer, Berkeley, "For significant and
continuing contributions in the field of superconducting electronics as a researcher,
educator and mentor, in particular for directing numerous innovative research projects in
superconductive device and circuit concepts, for mentoring many students who have
become the core of the US activity in superconductive electronics, for his co-authorship
of the standard textbook on superconductive devices, for serving as the founding
editor-in-chief of the IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity and for his
enthusiastic support to establishing, and frequently chairing, various conferences,
workshops and study groups promoting the growth of the superconductive electronics
technology".
Martin Wilson, Oxford Instruments, "For significant and
continuing contributions in the field of large-scale superconductive applications, in
particular the pioneering research leading to the fundamental principles of
superconducting magnet design and execution, for his documentation and explanation of
these concepts and calculations pertaining to, for example, magnetization, minimum
quench energy, quench development, etc, concisely presented in his book on
superconducting magnets, and in recognition of his leadership of outstanding forefront
scientific and engineering teams involved in applied superconductivity in research labs
and industry, for example, the development of Rutherford cable and the Helios
synchrotron X-ray source".
Pontecorvo prize
The Bruno Pontecorvo prize for 2000 is awarded to Academician Georgi Zatsepin and Vladimir Gavrin (both from the Institute for Nuclear Research, Moscow) for their outstanding contributions to solar neutrino research using the gallium germanium method at the Baksan Neutrino Observatory. The prize, administered by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, near Moscow, was awarded during the January session of JINR Scientific Council. In even-numbered years, the prize is awarded to Russian physicists only.
