APS News

May 1996 (Volume 5, Number 5)

Physicists to be Honored at 1996 May Meeting

The APS will honor three physicists in May for their contributions to the fields of atomic, molecular and optical physics and particle physics. The 1996 Will Allis Prize, Davisson-Germer Prize, and Dannie Heineman Prize will be presented during the annual spring meeting of the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (DAMOP), 15-18 May, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Recipients, citations, and brief biographical information are provided below.

1996 WILL ALLIS PRIZE
Endowed in 1989 by AT&T, GE, GT&E, IBM, and Xerox Corporation to recognize and encourage outstanding research into the behavior of ionized gases.

Chun C. Lin
University of Wisconsin

Citation: "For advancing the understanding of the microscopic behavior of ionized gases through his innovative and pioneering studies of excitation in electron and ion collisions with atomic and molecular targets."

Lin received his BS degree from the University of California-Berkeley in 1951 and Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1955. His thesis advisor was J.H. Van Vleck. Lin was on the faculty at the University of Oklahoma during 1955 to 1968. In 1968 he moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he is now the John and Abigail Van Vleck Professor of Physics.

Lin began his career in the field of microwave spectroscopy. While at the University of Oklahoma he initiated a program on electron excitation of atoms in collaboration with Robert M. St. John. Much of his research in this field is directed toward understanding the basic nature of the atomic and molecular processes in ionized gases. For many years, Lin also worked on the theory of the electronic structure of crystals and impurity atoms in solids. Lin served as the Chairman of the Gaseous Electronics Conference in 1990-1992 and the Chair DAMOP in 1994-1995.

1996 DAVISSON-GERMER PRIZE
Established in 1965 by a donation from AT&T Bell Laboratories, the Davisson-Germer Prize is intended to recognize and encourage outstanding work in atomic physics or surface physics.

Thomas Francis Gallagher
University of Virginia

Citation: "For his elucidation of the characteristics and collisional behavior of highly excited states of atoms."

Gallagher was born in Bronxville, New York in 1944. He received a BA in physics from Williams College in 1966 and an MA and a Ph.D., both in physics from Harvard University in 1968 and 1971, respectively. After a year as a research associate at the University of Utah, he spent the next 12 years at SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute). In 1984 he moved to the University of Virginia, where he is now the Jesse W. Beams Professor of Physics. Much of Gallagher's research has been focused on Rydberg Atoms, understanding their intrinsic properties and using their exaggerated properties to explore unusual physical situations. He has written the monograph, Rydberg Atoms, on this topic.

Gallagher is a fellow of both The American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America. He has been a divisional associate editor for Physical Review Letters, an associate editor for Optics Letters, a topical editor for the Journal of the Optical Society of America, and chair of the DAMOP.

1996 DANNIE HEINEMAN PRIZE
Established by the Heineman Foundation for Research, Educational, Charitable, and Scientific Purposes, Inc. in 1959 to recognize outstanding publications in the field of mathematical physics.

Roy J. Glauber
Harvard University

Citation: "For important contributions to the mathematical physics of quantum optics and short-wavelength scattering."

Glauber has been the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University since 1976. He received his Ph.D. in 1949 from Harvard University. He worked as a staff member on the Manhattan Project and did postdoctoral work for the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, and has served on the editorial boards of several technical journals, including Nuclear Physics B and the Journal of Mathematical Physics. Glauber has been a member of the Advisory Board for the Program for Science and Technology for International Security at MIT since 1983.

©1995 - 2024, AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY
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Editor: Barrett H. Ripin

May 1996 (Volume 5, Number 5)

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Inside the Beltway
Beller International Lecture at DAMOP Meeting
FY 1997 R&D Budget Request Announced
International News
Physicists to be Honored at 1996 May Meeting
Career Corner
Physics Success Stories Provide Tools for Scientists
In Brief
Letters
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