Henry Primakoff Award for Early-Career Particle Physics
To recognize outstanding contributions made by early-career physicists and helps promote the careers of exceptionally promising physicists. The prize is given annually and will consist of $3,000 and a certificate citing the contributions of the recipient, plus an allowance for travel to an APS meeting to receive the award and deliver an invited lecture.
Rules and eligibility
This award recognizes outstanding elementary particle physics research performed by a physicist who must have obtained their Ph.D. within seven years of the current nomination deadline, plus any career breaks. The research recognized could either be a single piece of work, or the sum of contributions.
Nominations will be considered for three review cycles provided the nominator re-certifies the nomination before the next deadline and all other eligibility criteria are still met.
Process and selection
The nomination must include:
- A letter of not more than 5,000 characters evaluating the qualifications of the nominee(s).
In addition, the nomination should include:
- A biographical sketch, including date of Ph.D.
- A list of the most important publications.
- At least two, but not more than four, seconding letters.
- Up to five reprints and preprints.
Establishment and support
The APS Division of Particles and Fields (DPF) established the award in 2011. The award is endowed by the Henry Primakoff Lecture Fund, created by members of the physics department at the University of Pennsylvania, where Henry Primakoff was a professor.
Recent recipients
Bernhard Mistlberger
2023 recipient
For groundbreaking contributions to high-precision quantum field theory, including the next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the production of Higgs and electroweak vector bosons at hadron colliders.
Benjamin Nachman
2022 recipient
For innovative contributions to the search for new physics in collider data incorporating original machine learning algorithms, and for the effective communication of these new techniques to the broader physics community.
Jaroslav Trnka
2021 recipient
For seminal work on the computation of particle scattering amplitudes, including the development of a new mathematical approach, the amplituhedron.
Matt Pyle
2020 recipient
For developing high-resolution ultra-low threshold cryogenic detectors which have defined new directions for research and development and opened possibilities for probing dark matter particle masses previously considered inaccessible.
Nhan Tran
2019 recipient
For wide-ranging contributions to the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment, including the development of a novel pileup subtraction method at the Large Hadron Collider, and the use of jet substructure for the analysis of high-energy collisions.
The membership of APS is diverse and global, and the nominees and recipients of APS Honors should reflect that diversity so that all are recognized for their impact on our community. Nominations of members belonging to groups traditionally underrepresented in physics, such as women, LGBT+ scientists, scientists who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), disabled scientists, scientists from institutions with limited resources, and scientists from outside the United States, are especially encouraged.
Nominees for and holders of APS Honors (prizes, awards, and fellowship) and official leadership positions are expected to meet standards of professional conduct and integrity as described in the APS Ethics Guidelines. Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of honors or removal from office.