APS Prizes and Awards 1

APS Announces 2016 Prize and Award Recipients

2016 APS Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research

Edward WittenInstitute for Advanced Study

Citation: For discoveries in the mathematical structure of quantum field theory that have opened new paths in all areas of quantum physics.

2016 Herman Feshbach Prize in Theoretical Nuclear Physics

Xiangdong JiUniversity of Maryland

Citation: For pioneering work in developing tools to characterize the structure of the nucleon within QCD and for showing how its properties can be probed through experiments; this work not only illuminates the nucleon theoretically but also acts as a driver of experimental programs worldwide.

2016 Will Allis Prize for the Study of Ionized Gases

Klaus BartschatDrake University

Citation: For fundamental theoretical and computational contributions to the understanding of charged-particle and photon collisions with atoms and molecules and for providing critical data and insight to the plasma modeling community.

2015 Fluid Dynamics PrizeMorteza Gharib

California Institute of TechnologyCitation: In recognition of his seminal contributions to measurement techniques in experimental fluid mechanics, elucidation of governing physical principles in flow-structure interactions and vortex dynamics, and creative application of these concepts to a variety of important problems in biological fluid dynamics and beyond.

2016 Hans A. Bethe PrizeVassiliki Kalogera

Northwestern UniversityCitation: For key contributions to the study of the electromagnetic and gravitational wave radiation from binary compact objects, including the now-verified prediction that neutron star mergers produce short gamma-ray bursts that will be found in all galaxy types.

2016 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics

Cumrun Vafa (top)Harvard University

Andrew E.Strominger (bottom)Harvard University

Citation: For leadership in numerous central developments in string theory, quantum field theory, and quantum geometry; including the interplay between string theory and Calabi-Yau geometry and especially for their elucidation of the origin of black hole entropy from microscopic states.

2016 Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics

I-Yang LeeLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Citation: For seminal contributions to the field of nuclear structure through the development of advanced gamma-ray detectors as realized in the Gammasphere device, and for pioneering work on gamma-ray energy tracking detectors demonstrated by the Gamma-ray Energy Tracking Array (GRETINA).

2016 Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids

David Tanner (top)University of Florida

Dirk van der Marel (bottom)University of Geneva

Citation: For insightful experiments and analyses on a wide variety of quantum solids with strong electronic correlations in general, and cuprate superconductors in particular, using optical spectroscopy.

2016 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize

Eli YablonovitchUniversity of California, Berkeley

Citation: For seminal achievements in solar cells and strained quantum well lasers, and especially for creating the field of photonic crystals, spanning both fundamental science and practical applications of that science.

2016 Davisson-Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface Physics

Randall G. HuletRice University

Citation: For pioneering investigations of quantum degenerate gases and how they are affected by atomic interactions.

2016 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld PrizeDavid Pines

University of California, DavisCitation: For his contributions to our understanding of emergent behavior in quantum matter-plasmons, nuclear, celestial and unconventional superfluidity, heavy electron emergence-and for his effectiveness in communicating these discoveries and a new “emergent” paradigm to the broader scientific community.

2016 Max Delbruck Prize in Biological Physics

Stephen R. QuakeStanford University

Citation: For invention of large-scale microfluidic integration and its use to gain new insights into protein crystallography, transcription factor binding, and microbial ecology, and for seminal discoveries in single cell and single molecule genome analysis.

2015 James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics

Masaaki YamadaPrinceton Plasma

Citation: For fundamental experimental studies of magnetic reconnection relevant to space, astrophysical and fusion plasmas, and for pioneering contributions to the field of laboratory plasma astrophysics.

Prizes

The APS would like to congratulate the recipients of these 42 prizes and awards. They will be presented during APS award ceremonies throughout the year. Both March and April meeting award ceremonies are open to all APS members and their guests. The APS March Meeting Honors Ceremony will be held Monday, March 14, 5:45 - 6:45 p.m. at the Hilton Baltimore, 401 W. Pratt St., Baltimore, MD, and the APS April Meeting Honors Ceremony will be held Sunday, April 17, 5:45-6:45 p.m. at the Salt Palace Convention Center 100 West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT. In addition to the award ceremonies, most prize and award recipients will give invited talks during the meeting. Some recipients of prizes, awards and newly elected fellows are recognized at APS unit meetings. For the schedule of APS meetings, please visit http://www.aps.org/meetings/calendar.cfm.

Nominations are now open for most of next year’s prizes, awards and fellows. We encourage members to nominate their highly-qualified peers, and to consider broadening the diversity and depth of the nomination pool from which honorees are selected. For nomination submission instructions, please visit the APS web site (http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/index.cfm).

APS Prizes and Awards2

2016 James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials

Mercouri G. KanatzidisNorthwestern University

Citation: For seminal contributions to the discovery of new families of thermoelectric materials with the highest known figure of merit

2016 Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy & Dynamics

Donald G. TruhlarUniversity of Minnesota

Citation: For extraordinarily broad and seminal advances in chemical kinetics, dynamics, and spectroscopy through pioneering and incisive work in the development and application of variational transition state theory, electronic structure calculations, and quantum mechanical scattering methods.

2016 Lars Onsager PrizeMarc Mezard (left)

École normale supérieure (ENS)Giorgio Parisi (middle)

Sapienza Università di RomaRiccardo Zecchina (right)

Politecnico di TorinoCitation: For groundbreaking work applying spin glass ideas to ensembles of computational problems, yielding both new classes of efficient algorithms and new perspectives on phase transitions in their structure and complexity.

2016 Polymer Physics PrizeAnna Balazs

University of PittsburghCitation: For imaginative and insightful use of theory to understand multi-component polymeric systems

2016 Aneesur Rahman Prize for Computational Physics

Matthias Troyer ETH Zürich

Citation: For pioneering numerical work in many seemingly intractable areas of quantum many body physics and for providing efficient sophisticated computer codes to the community.

2016 Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics

Allan FranklinUniversity of Colorado

Citation: For path-breaking historical analyses of the roles of experiment in physics and for explicating the nature of evidence and error in scientific argument.

2016 Andrei Sakharov PrizeZafra Lerman

Malta Conferences FoundationCitation: For life-long devotion to the scientific freedom and human rights of scientists throughout the world and for compelling leadership in using science as a bridge to peace in the Middle East.

2016 J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics

G. Peter Lepage Cornell University

Citation: For inventive applications of quantum field theory to particle physics, particularly in establishing the theory of hadronic exclusive processes, developing nonrelativistic effective field theories, and determining standard-model parameters with lattice gauge theory.

2016 George E. Pake PrizeRobert Doering

Texas InstrumentsCitation: For outstanding leadership in research and development of semiconductor manufacturing technology and integrated circuit device scaling.

2016 W.K.H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics

Jonathan Dorfan (top left)Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology

David Hitlin (top right)California Institute of Technology

Stephen Olsen (bottom left)Center for Underground Physics

Institute of Basic ScienceFumihikoTakasaki (bottom right)

High Energy Physics Laboratory (KEK)Citation: For leadership in the BABAR and Belle experiments, which established the violation of CP symmetry in B meson decay, and furthered our understanding of quark mixing and quantum chromodynamics.

2016 Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science

Robert W. Boyd University of Ottawa

Citation: For fundamental contributions to the field of nonlinear optics, including the development of approaches for controlling the velocity of light, of quantum imaging methods, and of composite nonlinear optical materials.

2016 Prize for a Faculty Member for Research

in an Undergraduate InstitutionGregory S. Adkins

Franklin & Marshall CollegeCitation: For highly significant and sustained contributions to quantum electrodynamics calculations, including the physical properties of positronium, and for tireless and profound commitment to involving undergraduates in theoretical physics research.

2016 Robert R. Wilson Prize for Achievement in the Physics

of Particle AcceleratorsVasily Parkhomchuk

Budker Institute of Nuclear PhysicsCitation: For crucial contributions in the proof of principle of electron cooling, for leading contribution to the experimental and theoretical development of electron cooling, and for achievement of the planned parameters of coolers for facilities in laboratories around the world.

APS Prizes and Awards 3

Awards2015 John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics

ResearchHyun-Kyung Chung (top)

International Atomic Energy AgencyOrlando Ciricosta (2nd from top)

University of Oxford Roger Falcone (3rd from top)

University of California, BerkeleyPhilip Heimann (4th from top)

SLAC National Accelerator LaboratoryRichard Lee (bottom left)

SLAC National Accelerator LaboratoryBob Nagler (2nd from left bottom)

SLAC National Accelerator LaboratorySam M Vinko (3rd from left bottom)

University of OxfordJustin Wark (right bottom)

University of OxfordCitation: For creative and novel use of the hard x-ray free electron laser to isochorically create high density plasmas and accurately measure the ionization potential depression, and for new theory that addresses discrepancies with long standing models and provides stimulus for continued developments.

2016 David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics

Harry A. AtwaterCalifornia Institute of Technology

Citation: For pioneering work in photonics, plasmonics, optical metamaterials, and photovoltaics, and for his outstanding presentations and outreach to the general audience.

2015 LeRoy Apker AwardBenjamin Augenbraun (left)

Williams CollegeCitation: For high-precision measurement of the DC Stark shift in the two-step 5P1/2 —> 6S1/2 →6P1/2 transition in atomic indium.

Adam Jermyn (right)California Institute of Technology

Citation: For original contributions to understanding how the atmospheres of pulsar companions are heated and for elucidating the observational consequences.

2015 Distinguished Lectureship Award on the

Applications of PhysicsJames J. Wynne

IBM T.J. Watson Research CenterCitation: For discovering excimer laser surgery, laying the foundation for laser refractive surgery and leading to a paradigm shift in how necrotic tissue is debrided.

2016 John H. Dillon MedalThomas Epps

University of DelawareCitation: For significant advancement in the control, characterization, and understanding of polymer nanoscale-structure and energetics.

2016 Edward A. Bouchet AwardPablo Laguna

Georgia Institute of TechnologyCitation: For contributions to numerical relativity and astrophysics; in particular, on the simulation of colliding black holes.

2016 Excellence in Physics Education Award

Robert J. BeichnerNorth Carolina State University

Citation: For leadership in research and dissemination of SCALE-UP teaching tools, providing an effective approach to learning physics with attention to conceptual understanding and participation of all students; and for editorial leadership in the establishment of PRST-PER, allowing broad dissemination of research-based educational practices.

2016 Joseph A. Burton Forum AwardErnest Moniz

U.S. Department of EnergyCitation: For outstanding contributions in government service to advancing national energy and science policy over two decades and to reducing the threat of nuclear proliferation through key roles in disposition of Russian nuclear materials in the 1990s and negotiation of the nuclear agreement with Iran in 2015.

2016 Joseph F. Keithley Award for Advances in Measurement Science

Albert MiglioriLos Alamos National Laboratory

Citation: For the development of Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy, used to study lattice and electronic phenomena in condensed matter physics, solving problems as diverse as the elastic properties of plutonium, to finding that the pseudogap state of cuprates is indeed a thermodynamic phase.

2015 Stanley Corrsin AwardMichael D. Graham

Citation: For novel research that provided fresh perspectives and laid the groundwork for the nonlinear dynamics of complex and multiphase fluids, including the interaction between polymer dynamics and turbulence, and the microhydrodynamics of complex and biological fluids.

2016 Maria Goeppert Mayer AwardHenriette Elvang

University of MichiganCitation: For discovering new types of black holes in higher dimensions, and giving us a deeper understanding of scattering amplitudes in quantum field theory.

APS Prizes and Awards4

2015 Dwight Nicholson Medal for Outreach

Charles M. Falco (top) University of Arizona

Citation: For his award-winning "The Art of the Motorcycle" exhibition for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (co-curator), and his work with the renowned artist David Hockney on the optical science utilized by the grand master artists; each unique project has made the public aware of the contributions of science to their daily lives.

David E. Kaplan (bottom)Johns Hopkins University

Citation: For the production of "Particle Fever," an extraordinary documentary not just about science, but about the human dimension of the pursuit of scientific knowledge.

2016 Henry Primakoff Award for Early-Career Particle Physics

Stefan HoecheSLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Citation: For innovative techniques of event simulation for high energy hadron colliders, enabling the comparison of theory and experiment with high precision.

2016 Jonathan F. Reichert and Barbara Wolff-Reichert Award for Excellence

in Advanced Laboratory InstructionVan Bistrow

University of ChicagoCitation: For persistent dedication to the improvement of advanced undergraduate laboratories at the University of Chicago, the consistent support of student success, and for promoting the national discourse on advanced laboratories.

2015 Thomas H. Stix Award for Outstanding Early Career

Contributions to Plasma Physics Research

Nuno F. G. LoureiroInstituto Superior Tecnico

Citation: For pioneering analytical and numerical studies of magnetic reconnection and especially for his contribution to the identification and understanding of the plasmoid-dominated reconnection in high Lundquist-number plasmas.

2016 Leo Szilard Lectureship AwardJoel Primack

University of California, Santa CruzCitation: For a crucial role in establishing the Congressional Science and Technology Policy Fellowships.

Fellowships

2015 M. Hildred Blewett FellowshipHuey-We Lin, University of California, Berkeley (top)

Nicole Lloyd-Ronning, Los Alamos National Laboratory (bottom left)

Monique Tirion, Clarkson University (center)Ani Tshantshapanyan, North Carolina Central University

(right)

2015 Stanford R. Ovshinsky Sustainable Energy FellowshipRichard R. Lunt, Michigan State University

2015 Andreas Acrivos Dissertation Award in Fluid Dynamics

Sujit Sankar Datta, California Institute of TechnologyFor an outstanding doctoral dissertation on the physics of flow through porous materials.

2015 Carl E. Anderson Division of Laser Science (DLS) Dissertation Award

Yang Zhao, Stanford UniversityFor her thesis entitled “Bio-Inspired Nanophotonics: Manipulating Light at the Nanoscale with Plasmonic Metamaterials.”

2015 Outstanding Doctoral Thesis in Astrophysics Anne Archibald, McGill University

For her thesis entitled “The End of Accretion: The X-ray Binary/Millisecond Pulsar Transition Object PSR J1023+0038.”

2015 Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Atomic, Molecular, or Optical Physics

Norman Yao, Harvard UniversityFor his thesis entitled “Topology, Localization, and Quantum Information in Atomic, Molecular and Optical Systems.”

2015 Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Beam Physics Award

Agostino Marinelli, University of California, Los AngelesIn recognition of a definitive theoretical treatment of microscopic space-charge effects in particle beams, and accompanying innovative experimental tests involving the first use of coherent imaging in microbunched beams.

2015 Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Biological Physics

Quan Wang, Stanford UniversityFor his thesis entitled “Enabling multivariate investigation of single-molecule dynamics in solution by counteracting Brownian motion.”

2016 Justin Jankunas Doctoral Dissertation Award in Chemical Physics

Peter Kraus, ETH ZürichFor his thesis entitled “Studies of Electronic and Nuclear Structure and Dynamics by High Harmonic Spectroscopy,” which he wrote under the direction of Prof. Hans Jakob Wörner at ETH Zürich.

2016 Nicholas Metropolis Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Work in Computational Physics

Rémi Lehe, Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryFor the development, implementation, and application of new algorithms toward the improvement of laser-wakefield accelerators.

2016 Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Experimental Condensed Matter or Materials Physics

Susanne Baumann, IBM Almaden Research CenterFor outstanding work in measuring and controlling the spin properties of individual magnetic atoms on surfaces by high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy.

2016 Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Experimental Condensed Matter or Materials Physics

Alexander Steppke, University of St AndrewsFor thermodynamic study of quantum criticality in Yb(Rh0.93Co0.27)2 and YbNi4(P1-xAsx)2.

2016 Dissertation Award in Nuclear PhysicsChun Shen, McGill University

For his successful prediction of anisotropic flow in Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC, his elucidation of the `direct photon flow puzzle', and his contributions to the development of a computational tool of viscous fluid dynamics enabling precision studies of relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

2015 Marshall N. Rosenbluth Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award*

Cami Collins, University of California, IrvineFor development of a novel means to generate a differentially rotating unmagnetized plasma using magnetic and electric fields applied at the plasma edge, providing access to previously inaccessible laboratory plasma regimes, and for unique measurements of the plasma viscosity.

2015 J.J. and Noriko Sakurai Dissertation Award in Theoretical Particle Physics*Mikhail P. Solon, University of Chicago

For the development of the heavy WIMP effective theory, which allows the most precise determination of WIMP nucleon scattering cross sections, essential for planning of future dark matter direct detection experiments.

Dissertations