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23.01.2014
DESY presents Bjørn H. Wiik Prizes 2012 and 2013
Today, two Bjørn H. Wiik Prizes were awarded at DESY in Hamburg: particle physicist Kerstin Tackmann receives the prize for 2012, photon scientist Ralf Röhlsberger receives the prize for 2013
From left to right: Eckhard Elsen, chair of the prize committee, Kerstin Tackmann, Ralf Röhlsberger and Margret Becker-Wiik, wife of Bjørn Wiik.
Kerstin Tackmann (35), who is working at the DESY ATLAS group, is honoured for her contributions to the Higgs particle discovery in the ATLAS detector at the LHC. With her analysis of the Higgs particle decay to two photons, she has played a decisive role in the identification of this particle. For this purpose, already previously she considerably refined the photon detection methods in the ATLAS detector. The resulting increase of the detection sensitivity made possible the rapid discovery of the Higgs boson, which was made public on 4 July 2012.
Ralf Röhlsberger (51) is awarded the Wiik Prize for his fundamental quantum mechanical experiments with X-rays, which he mainly carried out at the most brilliant synchrotron radiation source PETRA III. To observe for example the electromagnetically induced transparency, he uses a platinum cavity with the size of one nanometre to induce single iron atoms to cooperative emission, and he makes use of experimental methods deriving from Mössbauer spectroscopy. The novel measuring procedure opens up manifold possibilities for additional experiments, e.g. in quantum information technology.
Every two to three years the Bjørn H. Wiik Prize is awarded to younger scientists and engineers for outstanding contributions to DESY’s research programme or for technical developments that notably advance projects at DESY. The award is endowed with 3000 €. It is funded from the proceeds of donations collected in 1999 to acknowledge Bjørn H. Wiik’s lifetime achievements.
