The European Physical Society (EPS) High Energy Physics Division will award the 2013 High Energy Particle Physics Prize to the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), "for the discovery of a Higgs boson, as predicted by the Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism," and to Micahel Della Negra, Peter Jenni and Tejinder Virdee, "for their pioneering and outstanding leadership roles in the making of the ATLAS and CMS experiments."
Maryland researchers, including Drew Baden, Sarah Eno, Nick Hadley and Andris Skuja, have played a strong role in the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) collaboration. They have made significant contributions to nearly every aspect of CMS from the construction and operation of the detector to physics analysis.
University of Maryland Physics Professor Sylvester James Gates, Jr. is one of 84 U.S. researchers and 21 foreign associates newly elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
That award cited Dr. Gates’ “contributions to the mathematics of supersymmetry in particle, field, and string theories and extraordinary efforts to engage the public on the beauty and wonder of fundamental physics.”
Gates’ induction will bring to 22 the number of past and present University of Maryland, College Park faculty who have been elected to the NAS. A total of 50 past and present faculty are members of the National Academies, which is comprised of the NAS, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine.
Gates is known for his work in supersymmetry and supergravity, areas closely related to superstring theory, which seeks to describe the fundamental matter of the universe and is sometimes referred to as a “theory of everything.” He is the John S.Toll Professor of Physics and director of the Center for String and Particle Theory. He has been featured frequently on the PBS television program NOVA as an expert on physics, and has completed a DVD of 24 half-hour lectures that make the complexities of theoretical physics understandable to laypeople.
“Jim Gates’ contributions to theoretical physics are shaping the way a generation of scientists think about and study the nature of the universe,” said Jayanth Banavar, dean of the university’s College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences. “This latest honor, along with the many others he has received this year and throughout his career, recognize the ground-breaking quality of his work. We congratulate him and we are extraordinarily proud of him.”
Randall is a double major in physics and mathematics and plans to pursue a doctorate in theoretical physics. Mandell plans to pursue a Ph.D. in physics.
The Goldwater Scholarship program was created in 1986 to identify students of outstanding ability and promise in science, engineering and mathematics, and to engage their pursuit of advanced study and research careers. The University of Maryland had three Goldwater winners this year and 44 total since its inception 27 years ago.
