Lorentz Medal

Physicist Juan Martín Maldacena, Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (United States), was awarded the Lorentz Medal in 2018 for his groundbreaking, innovative work in theoretical physics over the previous two decades.

Maldacena has made a major contribution to our understanding of the quantum physics of black holes. In 1997, he was the first to propose a fundamental relationship between quantum field theory and quantum gravity, two of the foundations of modern physics. This “AdS/CFT correspondence” (also called the “gauge/gravity duality” or the “Maldacena duality”) brought about a true revolution in string theory and beyond. Since then, scientists have developed numerous theoretical implementations of this correspondence, the physical implications of which are still being studied. One example is the prediction of the “minimal viscosity” of the strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma, which has subsequently been supported by measurements at Brookhaven and CERN.

Maldacena’s work also extends into other branches of theoretical physics. In 2003, for example, he proved that cosmic background radiation must contain a very specific signature that supports the inflationary models of the creation of the universe. Juan Martín Maldacena has been extremely influential; his articles have influenced and shaped many theoretical physicists. In terms of quantity, too, his productivity is extraordinary: over the past 25 years he has published 125 articles, and has some 50,000 citations. His publication on the AdS/CFT correspondence is the most frequently cited article in the field of high energy physics (source). More about Maldacena’s work: http://www.sns.ias.edu/malda 

About Juan Martín Maldacena

Juan Martín Maldacena, born in Argentina in 1968, began his academic career at the University of Buenos Aires and the Instituto Balsiero at the Universidad de Cuyo in Bariloche. He obtained his PhD from Princeton University, after which his career took him to Rutgers and Harvard. Since 2001 he has been a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

Maldacena has received many national and international awards for his work, including the Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics, the ICTP Dirac Medal, and the Milner Foundation Fundamental Physics Prize. He is also a member of a number of academic societies including the National Academy of Sciences and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

Michael Berry, Emeritus Professor at the University of Bristol, received the 2014 Lorentz Medal for developing the theory of geometric phase, which is of major importance in both quantum mechanics and classical wave theory.

Berry is reminiscent of Hendrik Lorentz not only as regards subject matter but also scientific style and curiosity. As with Lorentz, his work combines theoretical issues with practical applications, and he carries out the detailed calculations himself. Lorentz also did the calculations for the Zuiderzee Works, the huge hydraulic engineering project that remodelled much of the Netherlands. Both these scientists share a talent for discovering hidden gems in mundane matters and identifying connections that others have overlooked. An example from Berry's work is the connection between singularities (points of infinite density) in a rainbow and tsunamis.

About the laureate

Michael Victor Berry (born 1941) took his undergraduate degree in physics at the University of Exeter and his doctorate at the University of St. Andrews. Since then, his career has developed mainly at the University of Bristol, where he has been Professor of Physics since 1979, since 2006 as the Melville Wills Professor of Physics (Emeritus).

Prof. Berry has received many national and international awards for his work, including the Royal Society’s Royal Medal and the Wolf Prize in Physics. Together with the later Nobel Prize winner Andre Geim, he received the IgNobel Prize in 2000 for levitating a frog by means of a very strong magnet.

He was elected to membership of the Royal Society of London in 1982 and was knighted in 1996. He has been a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2000.

Edward Witten, Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (United States), received the 2010 Lorentz Medal for his pioneering contributions to the mathematical description of fundamental forces and elementary particles, in particular string theory.

From the jury report: "Edward Witten is clearly the most influential theoretical physicist of the past three decades. He has authored more than 300 publications in quantum field theory, string theory, and mathematical physics. His work combines a profound understanding of physics, mathematical elegance, and remarkable clarity of argument. His countless contributions to physics as well as mathematics cover a broad range of original and pioneering discoveries and theoretical models. He has surpassed all other modern scientists in bridging the gap between mathematics and physics, and in doing so has made extremely important contributions to both fields of science.”

“There is no doubt that Edward Witten has played as influential a role in the development of physics as Hendrik Antoon Lorentz,” said jury chairman Carlo Beenakker. “His leadership in this branch of science makes him a worthy recipient of the Lorentz Medal.”

About the laureate

Edward Witten graduated from Brandeis University in 1971 and received his PhD from Princeton University in 1976. After a postdoc at Harvard University, he joined the staff at Princeton in 1980. In 1987 he transferred to the Institute for Advanced Study. Among his awards are the US National Medal of Science, the Fields Medal, and the Crafoord Prize.

Physicist Leo Kadanoff, from the University of Chicago, has been awarded the Lorentz Medal 2006. He has received the medal  for his contributions to statistical physics, in particular to the theory of phase transitions.

Kadanoff's research has revolutionised the way in which physicists regard sudden changes in matter, e.g. the transition from liquid to gas or the appearance of a magnetic field in a metal. Kadanoff has discovered that such 'phase transitions' obey certain laws applying
universally.

Kadanoff's ideas have been exceptionally fruitful in other areas of physics, too. By applying his theory to such diverse phenomena as turbulent water and running sand piles, he developed a systematic approach to what are now called 'complex systems'. In addition, his work has cast new light on chaotic dynamics beyond physics, such as stock market fluctuations, heart beat irregularities and traffic jams.

About the laureate

Leo P. Kadanoff received his Ph.D in physics from Harvard, which was followed by a postdoctoral in Copenhagen. He taught at the University of Illinois (1962-1969) and Brown University (1969-1978), before moving to the University of Chicago where he is John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of Physics and Mathematics. He is currently President Elect of the American Physical Society.

American physicist Frank Wilczek (1951), who is attached to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has been awarded the Lorentz Medal 2002. He has received the prize for his pioneering work in particle physics.

Professor Wilczek is one of the most influential theoretical physicists of his generation. He was an instrumental figure in the discovery of the phenomenon known as 'asymptotic freedom'. This is a phenomenon whereby the building blocks which make up the nucleus of an atom - 'quarks' - behave as free particles when they are close together, but become more strongly attracted to each other as the distance between them increases. This theory forms the key to the interpretation of almost all experimental studies involving modern particle accelerators. In the view of the Academy, Wilczek's work is characterised by both its breadth and its depth. For example, his research on particles which can only move in a two-dimensional plane was of great importance in the understanding of two-dimensional electron gases in semiconductors.

About the laureate
 

Professor Wilczek studied at the universities of Chicago and Princeton, where he obtained his doctorate in 1974. He later became professor of physics at Princeton and at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Since 2000 he has held the Herman Feshbach chair at MIT. He is a member of the American National Academy of Sciences, and has received the Dirac Medal (1994) and the Michelson-Morley Prize (2002). In recent years Professor Wilczek has developed a close association with physics in the Netherlands, and in 1998 he was the Lorentz Professor at Leiden University. He recently became an international member of KNAW. Frank Wilczek regularly speaks and writes on theoretical physics for a wide audience.

 

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