APS News

March 1998 (Volume 7, Number 3)

Physicists Honored at the 1998 March Meeting

Eleven APS prizes and awards will be presented during a special ceremonial session at the 1998 APS March Meeting in Los Angeles, California, to be held later this month. Citations and biographical information for each recipient follow. Additional biographical information and appropriate Web links can be found at the APS Web site

LARS ONSAGER PRIZE

The Onsager Prize was established in 1993 by an endowment from Drs. Russell and Marian Donnelly. It recognizes outstanding research in theoretical statistical physics, including the quantum fluids.

Leo P. Kadanoff
University of Chicago
Citation: "For his numerous and profound contributions to statistical physics, including the introduction of the concepts of universality and block spin scaling that are central to the modern understanding of the critical phenomena."

Kadanoff received his PhD from Harvard University in 1960, and then did postdoctoral work at the Neils Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. He joined the faculty of the University of Illinois in 1962, during which his research focused on understanding the properties of matter, especially superconductivity. He moved to Brown University in 1969, conducting research in solid state physics and mathematical models for urban growth, and then to the University of Chicago in 1978, where he is presently engaged in understanding the development of chaos and of structures in simple mechanical and fluid systems. Kadanoff is best known for his development of the concepts of "block scaling" and "universality" as they applied to phase transitions.

BIOLOGICAL PHYSICS PRIZE

Established in 1981, the Biological Physics Prize recognizes and encourages outstanding achievement in biological physics research. Sponsors include Abbott Labs, Bio-Rad Microscience Division, Candela Laser Corp., Coherent Laser Products Group, Eastman Kodak Furumoto Research Foundation, Newport Corporation's Bio-Instruments Division, and Siemens AG's Medical Imaging Group.

Rangaswamy Srinivasan
UVTech Associates
Citation: "For the development of an understanding of the effects of intense ultraviolet light on biological materials, leading to an ability to 'phototech' tissue surfaces precisely and safely, and for his role in developing applications in angioplasty, ophthalmology, and dermatology."

Srinivasan received his PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Southern California in 1956. After postdoctoral work at the California Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester, he joined the research staff at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. His research as been devoted to fundamental investigations on the action of ultraviolet photons from mercury lamps, as well as excimer lasers on organic materials. He founded UVTech in 1990.

OLIVER E. BUCKLEY PRIZE

Endowed in 1952 by AT&T Bell Laboratories, the Oliver E. Buckley Prize recognizes and encourages outstanding theoretical or experimental contributions to condensed matter physics in America.

Donald M. Ginsberg
Dale J. Van Harlingen
University of Illinois
John Robert Kirtley
Chang-C. Tsuei
IBM/T.J. Watson Research Center
Citation: "For using phase-sensitive experiments in the elucidation of the orbital symmetry of the pairing function in high-Tc superconductors."

Ginsberg received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1960 and has been with the faculty of the University of Illinois ever since. His research has been devoted to performing and interpreting experiments on superconductors. His major interests include electromagnetic absorption and the penetration depth; the superconducting coherence length and proximity effects; effects of strong electron-phonon coupling and magnetic dopant atoms; and the motions of magnetic vortices.

Van Harlingen received his PhD from Ohio State University in 1977 and spent the following year as a postdoctoral fellow at Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory. While a postdoc at Berkeley, he worked on non-equilibrium superconductivity and dc SQUID electronics. He joined the faculty of the University of Illinois in 1981, where he is currently a professor of physics. His research is focused on the physics of superconductor materials and devices.

Kirtley received his PhD from the UC, Santa Barbara in 1976 and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 1978, he has been a research staff member at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. His research interests include inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy, non-equilibrium superconductivity, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, light emitting tunnel junctions, and low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. Since 1993, he has been developing the scanning SQUID microscope.

Tsuei received his PhD in materials science from the California Institute of Technology. After seven years on the faculty of that institution, he joined the research staff at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in 1973. He made important contributions to the study of properties of various glassy metals, including amorphous superconductors and ferromagnets. His current research interests include the mechanism responsible for high Tc superconductivity, and phase sensitive tests of pairing symmetry.

HIGH POLYMER PHYSICS PRIZE

The High Polymer Physics Prize was established by the Ford Motor Company to recognize outstanding accomplishment and excellence in contributions to high polymer physics research.

Murugappan Muthukumar
University of Massachusetts
Citation: "For outstanding theoretical contributions to the fundamental understanding of the statistics of isolated chains, chain dynamics, critical phenomena and polymer self-assembly."

Muthukumar received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1979 and spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory. After a two-year appointment as an assistant professor at Illinois Institute of Technology, he joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts in 1983, where he is currently a professor of polymer science and engineering. His research addresses the statistical mechanics of synthetic and natural polymers, specifically the structure, recognition, dynamics and transport of polymer molecules, as well as self-assembly and kinetics of multi-domain polymer assemblies. He is a Divisional Associate Editor of Physical Review Letters.

FRANK ISAKSON PRIZE

Established in 1979 and sponsored by Elsevier Science Ltd., publisher of the journal Solid State Communications. The Isakson Prize recognizes and encourages outstanding contributions to the field of optical effects in solids.

Yuen-Ron Shen
University of California, Berkeley
Citation: "For his contributions to the basic understanding of the interaction of light with matter, and for his development of novel linear and nonlinear techniques for pioneering studies of semiconductors, liquid crystals, surfaces and interfaces."

Shen received his PhD from Harvard University in 1963 and remained there for postdoctoral work before joining the faculty of UC, Berkeley, where he has remained ever since. He was involved in the early development of nonlinear optics and their application to studies of materials of all phases. Most recently, he has focused on the development of surface nonlinear optical spectroscopies and their applications to surface science. In 1992 Shen was awarded the APS Arthur Schawlow Prize.

GEORGE E. PAKE PRIZE

Established in 1993 and endowed by the Xerox Corporation, the Pake Prize recognizes and encourages outstanding work by physicists combining original research accomplishments with leadership in the management of research or development in industry.
John Paul McTague
Ford Motor Company
Citation: "For insightful experiments and contributions to the understanding of 2-D phase transitions and orientation epitaxy; for major contributions in management of science in government, national laboratories, and industry; and championing new paradigms for collaboration, such as the Partnership for Next Generation Vehicles."

McTague received his PhD from Brown University and began his research career at Rockwell International in 1964, collaborating on the first observations of collision-induced Raman scattering. In 1970 he joined the chemistry faculty at UC, Los Angeles, and later held appointments at Riso and Brookhaven National Laboratory. After chairing BNL's National Synchrotron Light Source Department, he spent three years as deputy director, and then acting director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. He joined Ford Motor Company in 1986, where he is presently vice president for technical affairs.

ANEESUR RAHMAN PRIZE

Established in 1992 with support from IBM Corporation and Argonne National Laboratory. The Rahman Prize recognizes and encourages outstanding achievement in computational physics research.

David M. Ceperley
University of Illinois
Citation: "For important and deeply methodological contributions to computational physics, and for highly significant research using those methods to multiple areas of physics."

Ceperley received his PhD in physics from Cornell University in 1976. After postdoctoral work at Rutgers University, he worked as a staff scientist at both LBL and LLNL. In 1987 he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois, where he is a professor of physics. An important work is his calculation of the energy of the electron gas, providing basic input for most numerical calculations of electronic structure. He was also a pioneer in the development and application of Path Integral Monte Carlo methods for quantum systems at finite temperature.

JOSEPH F. KEITHLEY AWARD

Established in 1997 by an endowment from Keithley Instruments, Inc., the Keithley Award is intended to recognize physicists who have been instrumental in the development of measurement techniques or equipment that have impact on the physics community by providing better measurements.

John Clarke
University of California, Berkeley
Citation: "For his experimental and theoretical studies of Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDS), advancing the state-of-the-art of measurement science by applying SQUIDS to many areas of both fundamental and applied physics, such as high Tc superconductor analyses, NMR amplifiers, and cryogenic comparators."

Clarke received his PhD in 1968 from Cambridge University. After a postdoctoral appointment in the physics department at UC, Berkeley, he joined the faculty of that institution in 1969, and has remained there ever since. He has worked extensively on the theory and practice of low-Tc dc-SQUIDs and applied them to such diverse areas as charge imbalance in superconductors, geophysics and nuclear magnetic resonance. His group is currently using SQUIDs for biology, NMR and nondestructive evaluation, as well as developing gradiometers for magnetocardiology.

JOHN H. DILLON MEDAL

The John H. Dillon Medal was established in 1983 by the Division of High Polymer Physics and sponsored by Elsevier Science, publisher of the journal Polymer, to recognize outstanding research accomplishments by a young polymer physicist.

Spiros H. Anastasiadis
F.O.R.T.H., Crete
Citation: "For pioneering studies of the structure and dynamics of polymer solutions, melts, interfaces, and thin films."

Anastasiadis received his PhD in chemical engineering from Princeton University in 1988 and did postdoctoral research at the IBM Almaden Research Center. He is currently an associate professor in the physics department at the University of Crete, and a research staff member at the Institute of Electronic Structure and Lasers at the Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas, in Greece. His main research interests include polymer surfaces/interfaces and thin films, the structure and dynamics of polymer blends, co-polymers, and anchored chains.

DAVID ADLER LECTURESHIP AWARD

The David Adler Lectureship Award was established in 1988 by contributions from friends of David Adler. Its purpose is to recognize an outstanding contributor to the field of materials physics, who is noted for research, review articles, and lecturing.

Joe Greene
University of Illinois
Citation: "For outstanding research and lecturing on the physics and chemistry of thin films."

Greene received his PhD in materials science from the University of Southern California in 1971 and joined the University of Illinois, where he is presently a professor and head of the Electronic Materials Division. The focus of his research has been the development of an atomic-level understanding of atom/surface interactions during vapor-phase crystal growth.

1997 Apker Award

Editor's Note: Anna Lopatnikova, recipient of the 1997 Apker Award for undergraduate achievement in a PhD granting department will also be honored at the ceremonial session at the March Meeting. See January 1998 issue of APS News for a description of Lopatnikova's achievements.

©1995 - 2024, AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY
APS encourages the redistribution of the materials included in this newspaper provided that attribution to the source is noted and the materials are not truncated or changed.

Editor: Barrett H. Ripin

March 1998 (Volume 7, Number 3)

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Articles in this Issue
One Year Until APS Centennial Celebration in Atlanta
Physicists Honored at the 1998 March Meeting
APS Forms Cooperative Agreement with LANL's xxx e-Print Archive
APS Announces Physical Review Special Topics Series
A Century of Physics
Inside the Beltway
CSWP Web-Based Survey
In Brief
APS Views
Letters
"Net Myths"
Zero Gravity: The Lighter Side of Science
The Back Page