Tag Archives: award

Giulio Rampa PhD Thesis Prize, 2016 Edition

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Giulio Rampa PhD Thesis Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematical or Numerical General Relativity, 2016 Edition

CALL for NOMINATIONS
A graduate of the University of Pavia, Giulio Rampa, in his short life, had a profound impact on his fellow students and the faculty of the Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics of the University of Pavia. Following his Master in Physics, he soon entered Graduate School at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, (Albert Einstein Institute), Potsdam where he became deeply interested in mathematical relativity. Known for his remarkable personality as well as his outstanding intellectual capability, Giulio Rampa’s life is celebrated through this prize honouring an outstanding PhD Thesis in mathematical or numerical general relativity.
A net monetary prize of 2,000 EUR will be awarded every two years to a graduate student for outstanding research in mathematical or numerical general relativity. The prize has been established in 2011, and is endowed under the terms of a bequest from Nadia and Giorgio Rampa.
Any student who graduated in a university or research centre worldwide is eligible to be considered for this prize. European citizenship is NOT required. The prize recipient’s PhD Thesis must be submitted for consideration by a nominator, preferably via e-mail, to:

Secretariat of The Rampa Prize Committee,
c/o Department of Physics,
Via Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy
e-mail: rampa.prize[AT]pv.infn.it

Self nominations will not be considered. It is the nominator’s responsibility to ensure that his/her candidate submits the required documentation. In particular, all nominated applicants must submit, preferably by e-mail, the application form, a copy of the thesis, a letter of recommendation from their thesis advisor, one or more letters of endorsement substantiating the candidate contributions, thesis reader comments, a one-page abstract of the thesis, and a C.V. to the above address.
The following criteria are reviewed when selecting the Giulio Rampa prize recipient: (i) Originality of Contribution, (ii) Breadth of Work, (iii) Publications, (iv) Quality of Nomination, (v) Quality of Endorsement.
The recipients of the prize are to be selected by an international standing joint committee. The decisions of the Committee are final and will be communicated by June the 30th, 2016. The 2016 prize will be awarded to a PhD Thesis submitted for consideration no later than March 31, 2016, on behalf of students who graduated between January 2014-December 2015.
The prize will be presented at the annual Honors Ceremony during the Inauguration of the Graduate Studies Academic Year in Pavia, in December 2016.

Further information and a pdf file with the Application Form is available at: http://www-2.unipv.it/dottorati/scienzeetecnologie/fisica/n/web_PhD/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=14&Itemid=106&lang=it

All the material relative to the application must be submitted by the March 31, 2016 deadline, preferably via e-mail, to the address:
Secretariat of The Rampa Prize Committee,
c/o Department of Physics,
Via Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy,
E-mail: rampa.prize[AT]pv.infn.it

The IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize

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NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN.
DEADLINE 1 FEBRUARY 2016

As an affiliated commission (AC2) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation (ISGRG) offers an annual IUPAP Young Scientist Prize. The IUPAP Young Scientist Prizes recognize outstanding achievements of scientists at early stages of their career. Each prize consists of a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient, a medal and 1000 euros.

The conditions for the prize are:

The IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize can be for work in any area of relativity and gravitation, theoretical or experimental.

On 1 February 2016, nominees must have a maximum of eight years of research experience (excluding career interruptions) following the Ph.D. (or equivalent) degree. They are expected to have displayed significant achievement and exceptional promise for future achievements in relativity and gravitation.

THE PRIMARY NOMINATOR MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY ON GENERAL RELATIVITY AND GRAVITATION.

Nominations may be made by any member of ISGRG (other than the nominee) and should be accompanied by a CV, a proposed citation of 30-50 words summarizing the reason for the nomination, a list of publications and a description (about one page long) of the specific achievements of the nominee, who need not be an ISGRG member.

It is important that the selection committee has specific information that allows it to determine what the nominee has contributed and how this will impact the subject. Therefore it will be extremely helpful to the selection committee to receive at least two additional letters supporting the nomination that detail the expected significance of the contributions of the nominee.

It is also appropriate to submit additional materials such as published articles. In the case of co-authored or multi-authored publications, it is essential for nominators and supporters to discuss the nominee’s precise contributions, if known, in addition to the work’s overall significance.

The entire package should be bundled into a single PDF file and emailed to the Secretary of ISGRG, beverlyberger[AT]me.com, by 1 February 2016. The winner will be announced on 14 March 2016 and the award made shortly thereafter. The official presentation of the award will be made at the GR21 conference in 2016.

Through the generosity of Prof. Abhay Ashtekar (Penn State U), an Ashtekar Travel Award of $1000 will be presented to the winner as partial support for travel to GR21.

Reminder of upcoming deadlines from the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation (ISGRG)

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A. 2016 Ehlers and Bergmann-Wheeler Thesis Prizes: Nomination deadline 30 September 2015

At GR21 in July 2016, ISGRG will award two thesis prizes. (1) The Juergen Ehlers Thesis Prize is awarded for the best Ph.D. thesis in the areas of mathematical and numerical general relativity. The selection committee is chaired by Prof. Alessandra Buonanno. (2) The Bergmann-Wheeler Thesis Prize is awarded for the best Ph.D. thesis in the broad area encompassing all approaches to quantum gravity. The selection committee is chaired by Prof. Theodore Jacobson. The primary nominator for each prize must be a member of ISGRG although supporting nominators and the candidates need not be members. More information, including eligibility criteria and submission instructions, may be found at (1) http://www.isgrg.org/ehlersprize.php and (2) http://www.isgrg.org/bergwheelprize.php respectively.

B. ISGRG Fellows: Nomination Deadline 31 December 2015

ISGRG elects Fellows from among leading scientists in its membership. The current list of fellows may be found at http://www.isgrg.org/fellows.php. See http://www.isgrg.org/fellowrules.php for the eligibility requirements, selection criteria and how to prepare a nomination. Completed nominations should be sent (electronically if at all possible) to Prof. Robert M. Wald, rmwa[AT]uchicago.edu who chairs the selection committee.

C. IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize: Nomination Deadline 2 February 2016

Nominations for the 2016 IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize will open 1 November 2015 with a deadline for submission of 1 February 2016. The primary nominator for each prize must be a member of ISGRG although supporting nominators and the candidates need not be members. See http://www.isgrg.org/IUPAPprize.php for additional information.

Buchalter Cosmology Prize 2015

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The newly established Buchalter Cosmology Prize seeks to motivate and recognize innovative theoretical, observational, or experimental work in cosmology that has the potential to produce a breakthrough advance in our thinking. Submissions for the 2015 prize will be accepted through October 1st, 2015. Three prizes will be awarded, with $10,000 going to first place. Details can be found at http://www.buchaltercosmologyprize.org.

(submitted by Robert Caldwell)

2015 Awards for Essays on Gravitation announcement

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GRAVITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION
PO BOX 81389
WELLESLEY HILLS MA 02481-0004
USA

Roger W. Babson (Founder)
George M. Rideout, Jr. (President)

The trustees are pleased to announce the Awards for Essays for 2015.

1. $4,000 – Local Conformal Symmetry: the Missing Symmetry Component for Space and Time by Gerard ‘t Hooft, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University and Spinoza Institute, Postbox 80.195, 3508 TD Utrecht, the Netherlands; e-mail: g.thooft[AT]uu.nl

2. $1,250 – Gravity as the Breakdown of Conformal Invariance by Giovanni Amelino-Camelia[1], Michele Arzano[1], Giulia Gubitosi[2], and Joao Magueijo[2], [1]Dipartimento di Fisica, Università La Sapienza and Sez. Roma1 INFN, P.le A. Moro 2, 00185 Roma, Italia, [2]TheoreticalPhysics, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London, SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom; e-mail: giovanni.amelino-camelia[AT]roma1.infn.it, michele.arzano[AT]roma1.infn.it, g.gubitosi[AT]imperial.ac.uk, j.magueijo[AT]imperial.ac.uk

3. $1,000 – Nature Abhors a Horizon by Per Kraus[1] and Samir D. Mathur[2], [1]Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547, [2]Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210; e-mail: pkraus[AT]ucla.edu, mathur.16[AT]osu.edu

4. $750 – Fractionated Branes and Black Hole Interiors by Emil J. Martinec, Enrico Fermi Inst. and Dept. of Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637-1433; e-mail: e-martinec[AT]uchicago.edu

5. $500 – The Essence of Gravitational Waves and Energy by F. I. Cooperstock, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3055, Victoria, B.C. V8W 3P6, Canada; e-mail: cooperst[AT]uvic.ca

Selected for Honorable Mention this year were (listed in alphabetical order): Tim Adamo; N. Afshordi, R. B. Mann, and R. Pourhasan; Dharam Vir Ahluwalia, Lance Labun, and Giorgio Torrieri; Shreya Banerjee, Sayantani Bera, and Tejinder P. Singh; Tom Banks; Carlos Barcelo, Raul Carballo-Rubio, and Luis J. Garay; John D. Barrow and Alexander A. H. Graham; Eric Bergshoeff, Wout Merbis, Alasdair J. Routh, and Paul K. Townsend; Swastik Bhattacharya and S. Shankaranarayanan; Eugenio Bianchi, Lucas Hackl, and Nelson Yokomizo; N. E. J Bjerrum-Bohr, John F. Donoghue, Basem Kamal El-Menoufi, Barry R. Holstein, Ludovic Plante, and Pierre Vanhove; Xian O. Camanho, Jose D. Edelstein, and Alexander Zhiboedov; Massimo Cerdonio and Carlo Rovelli; Saurya Das; Upasana Das and Banibrata Mukhopadhyay; Aharon Davidson and Ben Yellin; John Bruce Davies; Laurent Freidel, Robert G. Leigh, and Djordje Minic; M. Gasperini; A. Gruppuso and A. Sagnotti; Carlos A. R. Herdeiro and Eugen Radu; Shahar Hod; Preston Jones and Douglas Singleton; Prado Martín-Moruno and Nelson J. Nunes; Ali Masoumi; Eduard G. Mychelkin and Maxim A. Makukov; T. Padmanabhan; Maulik Parikh; Jeremy Sakstein and Kazuya Koyama; Ashoke Sen; C. Sivaram; Joan Sola; C. S. Unnikrishnan and George T. Gillies; Aron C. Wall.

This announcement and abstracts of award-winning and honorable mention essays will be posted when ready on our web site, http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org. The five award-winning essays will be published in a special issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMPD). They will also be posted at a later date on our web site.

2015 Awards for Essays on Gravitation

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In 2015, for our sixty-sixth competition, the trustees of the Gravity Research Foundation are offering five awards for short essays for the purpose of stimulating thought and encouraging work on gravitation. The stipulations follow.

(1) We will make these Awards on May 15, 2015 for the best well-written essays, 1500 words or fewer (excluding abstracts, diagrams, references and minimal equations), on the subject of gravitation, its theory, applications, or effects.

(2)
The First Award will be 4000.00 USD
The Second Award will be 1250.00
The Third Award will be 1000.00
The Fourth Award will be 750.00
The Fifth Award will be 500.00

(3) Essays must be in English and e-mailed in a single PDF file before April 1, 2015. One essay only will be accepted from each author. Notify us within 24 hours if you do not receive an e-mail confirmation of your submission.

(4) Title pages should include essay title; authors’ names, e-mail and mailing addresses; submission date; an abstract of 125 words or less; and the statement: “Essay written for the Gravity Research Foundation 2015 Awards for Essays on Gravitation.” Pages should be numbered.

(5) The decision of the judges will be final and no reviews or comments will be provided.

(6) Please check the winners’ announcement to be posted on our website: www.gravityresearchfoundation.org around May 15, 2015. We will also attempt to send all participants a general e-mail notification.

(7) The five award-winning essays will be published in a special issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMPD). Authors of essays designated Honorable Mention will be invited to submit their essays to the IJMPD where these may undergo additional refereeing at editorial discretion for possible publication. Authors of all other essays are free and encouraged to publish their essays after May 15th. Submission e-mail address: George M. Rideout, Jr., President, grideoutjr[AT]aol.com

Recent First Award Winners:
2014 – Lawrence M. Krauss, Arizona State University and Frank Wilczek, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2013 – Baocheng Zhang, Qing-yu Cai, Ming-sheng Zhan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan and Li You, Tsinghua University, Bejing, PR China
2012 – Claus Kiefer and Manuel Kraemer, University of Cologne, Koeln, Germany
2011 – Ivan Agullo, Penn State and Leonard Parker, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2010 – Mark Van Raamsdonk, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
2009 – Alexander Burinskii, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
2008 – T. Padmanabhan, IUCAA, Pune, India
2007 – S. Carlip, University of California at Davis
2006 – Vijay Balasubramanian, University of Pennsylvania; Donald Marolf, University of California at Santa Barbara and Moshe Rozali, University of British Columbia
2005 – John Ellis, CERN; N. E. Mavromatos, King’ss College London and D. V. Nanopoulos, Texas A and M University
2004 – Maulik Parikh, Columbia University, New York
2003 – Martin Bojowald, The Pennsylvania State University
2002 – Steven B. Giddings, University of California at Santa Barbara and Stanford University
2001 – Csaba Csaki and Joshua Erlich, Los Alamos National Lab and Christophe Grojean, University of California at Berkeley
2000 – Arthur Lue and Erick J. Weinberg, Columbia University, New York

Call for Nominations: The 2015 Bronstein Prize in Loop Quantum Gravity

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During the celebration of 25 years of Loop Quantum Gravity at Madrid, a new prize for post-doctoral scholars in Loop Quantum gravity was created. It is named after Matvei Petrovich Bronstein, who was the first to emphasize that quantum gravity requires a deep revision of classical space-time concepts. He wrote his Ph.D. thesis on Quantization of Gravitational Waves in 1935. He clearly understood the limitation of applying the Bohr-Rosenfeld QED measurement analysis to gravity. He derived the quantum analog of Einstein’s quadrupole formula but emphasized the need to go beyond linearized gravity. He was considered by many as the brightest of the young Soviet physicists in the mid-1930’s. He was arrested on trumped-up charges in 1937 and executed in 1938. An account appears in http://www.chukfamily.ru/Lidia/Biblio/House.htm

Nominations for the 2015 Bronstein Prize are invited. The nominee should hold a (non-faculty) post-doctoral position at the time of the nomination deadline. The primary criterion will be high quality of scientific results in loop quantum gravity, interpreted in the broadest sense, creativity and originality, and the significance of results to the field as a whole.

The nomination packet should consist of:
i) A ~1 page nomination letter summarizing the specific achievements to date of the nominee;
ii) A complete CV and a publication list of the nominee;
iii) 2 letters of support from experts emphasizing the broad significance of all research contributions to date of the nominee; and,
iv) A proposed citation.

Self nominations will not be considered. The entire packet should be bundled into a single PDF file and e-mailed to Ms. Randi Neshteruk (rxh1[AT]psu.edu) by Friday, January 30th 2015.

The prize consisting of a certificate and a monetary reward will be presented during the Loops 2013 conference, which will be held at FAU, Erlangen-Nurnbeg from July 6th to 10th, 2015.

2015 IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize

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The IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize is now open for nominations:
As an affiliated commission (AC2) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation (ISGRG) offers an annual IUPAP Young Scientist Prize. The IUPAP Young Scientist Prizes recognize outstanding achievements of scientists at early stages of their career. Each prize consists of a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient, a medal and 1000 euros.
The conditions for the prize are:

The IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize can be for work in any area of relativity and gravitation, theoretical or experimental.

On 1 February 2015, nominees must have a maximum of eight years of research experience (excluding career interruptions) following the Ph.D. (or equivalent) degree. They are expected to have displayed significant achievement and exceptional promise for future achievements in relativity and gravitation.

The primary nominator must be a member of the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation.

Nominations may be made by any member of ISGRG (other than the nominee) and should be accompanied by a CV, a proposed citation of 30-50 words summarizing the reason for the nomination, a list of publications and a description (about one page long) of the specific achievements of the nominee, who need not be an ISGRG member.

It is important that the selection committee has specific information that allows it to determine what the nominee has contributed and how this will impact the subject. Therefore it will be extremely helpful to the selection committee to receive at least two additional letters supporting the nomination that detail the expected significance of the contributions of the nominee.

It is also appropriate to submit additional materials such as published articles. In the case of co-authored or multi-authored publications, it is essential for nominators and supporters to discuss the nominee’s precise contributions, if known, in addition to the work’s overall significance.

The entire package should be bundled into a single PDF file and emailed to the Secretary of ISGRG, beverlyberger[AT]me.com, by 1 February 2015. The winner will be announced on 14 March 2015 and the award made shortly thereafter. The official presentation of the award will be made at the GR21 conference in 2016.

Through the generosity of Prof. Abhay Ashtekar (Penn State U), an Ashtekar Travel Award of $1000 will be presented to the winner as partial support for travel to GR21.

David Radice awarded 2014 Giulio Rampa Thesis Prize

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We are pleased to announce that the 2014 Giulio Rampa Thesis Prize for outstanding research in Mathematical or Numerical General Relativity will be presented to Dr. David Radice.

The committee consisting of Profs. Gerhard Huisken (Chair), Lars Andersson, and Mauro Carfora, prepared the following citation:

“Dr. Radice’s Thesis on “Advanced Numerical Approaches in the Dynamics of Relativistic Flows” discusses a number of novel numerical approaches dedicated to the solution of the hydrodynamic equations in relativistic regimes. The research initiated by Dr. Radice in so many different areas has enormously pushed forward the state-of-the-art in that field, providing new insight and resolving long-standing questions. Dr. Radice’s work has not been restricted to the construction of new and advanced numerical codes; rather, his work has been all about making use of these sophisticated tools to advance gravitational physics, probing with more precision and fewer resources new physical scenarios. The large impact that the work of Dr. Radice has already can only continue to grow in the future.”

The prize is sponsored by The University of Pavia to honor the memory of Giulio Rampa and is given, every two years, to a graduate student for outstanding research in mathematical or numerical general relativity. The prize has been established in 2011, and is endowed under the terms of a bequest from Nadia and Giorgio Rampa.
The GRT prize carries a certificate and a net check for € 2,000. The prize will be presented at the annual Honors Ceremony during the Inauguration of the Graduate Studies Academic Year in Pavia, on November the 28th 2014.

Nominations open for the 2015 Einstein Prize

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Dear Colleagues,

The next American Physical Society (APS) Einstein Prize will be awarded in 2015. This Prize, established by the APS Topical Group in Gravitation (GGR) in 1999, is given to recognize outstanding accomplishments in the field of gravitational physics. The prize consists of $10,000 and a certificate citing the contributions of the recipient. It also includes an allowance for the recipient to travel to a meeting of the Society to receive the award and deliver a lecture. It is awarded biennially in odd-numbered years.

The award, usually to a single individual, is for outstanding achievement in theory, experiment or observation in the area of gravitational physics. It is open to any scientist, worldwide.

The deadline for submission of nominations for the 2015 prize is July 1, 2014.

For additional information about the prize including the nomination procedure and past winners, see
http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/einstein.cfm.

I encourage you to consider nominating outstanding gravitational physicists for this prize.

Regards,

Beverly K. Berger
Chair, APS Topical Group in Gravitation

Awards Winners for Essays 2014

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Gravity Research Foundation

PO BOX 81389
WELLESLEY HILLS MA 02481-0004
USA
Roger W. Babson George M. Rideout, Jr.
FOUNDER President

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The trustees are pleased to announce the Awards for Essays for 2014.

1. $4,000 – From B-Modes to Quantum Gravity and Unification of Forces by Lawrence M. Krauss[1] and Frank Wilczek[2]; [1]Department of Physics and School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, PO BOX 871404 Tempe, AZ 85287-1404 and Mount Stromlo Observatory, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Weston, ACT, Australia 2611, [2]Department of Physics, MIT, Cambridge MA 02139; e-mail: krauss[AT]asu.edu, wilczek[AT]mit.edu

2. $1,250 – Black Holes as Gravitational Atoms by Cenalo Vaz, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0011; email: Cenalo.Vaz[AT]UC.Edu

3. $1,000 – What Drives the Time Evolution of the Spacetime Geometry? by T. Padmanabhan, IUCAA, Post Bag 4, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411 007, India; e-mail: paddy[AT]iucaa.ernet.in

4. $750 – Schrödinger’s Cat and the Firewall by Timothy J. Hollowood, Department of Physics, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK; e-mail: t.hollowood[AT]swansea.ac.uk

5. $500 – Gravitational Waves and the (Quantum) Nature of the Primordial Seed by Rafael A. Porto, School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Olden Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540 and Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Theory Group, D-22603 Hamburg, Germany; e-mail: rporto[AT]ias.edu

Selected for Honorable Mention this year were (listed in alphabetical order): F. D. Albareti, J. A. R. Cembranos, and A. L. Maroto; C. R. Argüelles and R. Ruffini; Manjari Bagchi and Diego F. Torres; Shant Baghram, Saeed Tavasoli, Farhang Habibi, Roya Mohayaee, and Joseph Silk; Vijay Balasubramanian, Bartlomiej Czech, and Jan de Boer; Tom Banks and W. Fischler; Carlos Barceló, Raúl Carballo-Rubio, and Luis J. Garay; Spyros Basilakos, José Ademir Sales Lima, and Joan Solà; Christian G. Böhmer and Robert J. Downes; Marco Bruni, Juan Carlos Hidalgo, and David Wands; Saurya Das; John Bruce Davies; Laurent Freidel, Robert G. Leigh, and Djordje Minic; Rodolfo Gambini and Jorge Pullin; Zahra Haghani, Tiberiu Harko, Hamid Reza Sepangi, and Shahab Shahidi; Richard T. Hammond; Carlos A. R. Herdeiro and Eugen Radu; Shahar Hod; Kristan Jensen and Julian Sonner; Justin Khoury, Godfrey E. J. Miller, and Andrew J. Tolley; Huiquan Li; Samir D. Mathur; Leopoldo A. Pando Zayas; Fabrizio Pinto; Dirk Puetzfeld and Yuri N. Obukhov; Mukund Rangamani and Massimilliano Rota; Carlo Rovelli and Francesca Vidotto; Varun Sahni and Yuri Shtanov; Jeremy Sakstein, Bhuvnesh Jain, and Vinu Vikram; P. Salucci, C. Frigerio Martins, and E. Karukes; Anushrut Sharma and Tejinder P. Singh; C. S. Unnikrishnan and George T. Gillies

This announcement and abstracts of award-winning and honorable mention essays will be posted when ready on our web site, http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org. The five award-winning essays will be published in a special issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMPD). They will also be posted at a later date on our web site.

Copyright © 2014 Gravity Research Foundation, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:

Gravity Research Foundation
P.O. Box 81389
Wellesley Hills, MA 02481-0004
www.gravityresearchfoundation.org

2014 Awards for Essays on Gravitation

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In 2014, for our sixty-fifth competition, the trustees of the Gravity Research Foundation are offering five awards for short essays for the purpose of stimulating thought and encouraging work on gravitation. The stipulations follow.

(1) We will make these Awards on May 15, 2014 for the best well-written essays, 1500 words or fewer (excluding abstracts, diagrams, references and minimal equations), on the subject of gravitation, its theory, applications, or effects.

(2) The First Award will be $4000.00
The Second Award will be $1250.00
The Third Award will be $1000.00
The Fourth Award will be $750.00
The Fifth Award will be $500.00

(3) Essays must be in English and e-mailed in a single PDF file before April 1, 2014. One essay only will be accepted from each author. Notify us within 24 hours if you do not receive an e-mail confirmation of your submission.

(4) Title pages should include essay title; authors’ names, e-mail and complete mailing addresses; submission date; an abstract of 125 words or less; and the statement: “Essay written for the Gravity Research Foundation 2014 Awards for Essays on Gravitation.” Pages should be numbered.

(5) The decision of the judges will be final and no reviews or comments will be provided.

(6) Please check the winners’ announcement to be posted on our website: gravityresearchfoundation.org around May 15, 2014. We will also attempt to send all participants a general e-mail notification.

(7) The five award-winning essays will be published in a special issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMPD). Authors of essays designated Honorable Mention will be invited to submit their essays to the IJMPD where these may undergo additional refereeing at editorial discretion for possible publication. Authors of all other essays are free and encouraged to publish their essays after May 15th.

Submission e-mail address: George M. Rideout, Jr., President (grideoutjr[AT]aol.com)

Recent First Award Winners:
2013 – Baocheng Zhang, Qing-yu Cai, Ming-sheng Zhan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan and Li You, Tsinghua University, Bejing, PR China
2012 – Claus Kiefer and Manuel Kraemer, University of Cologne, Koeln, Germany
2011 – Ivan Agullo, Penn State and Leonard Parker, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2010 – Mark Van Raamsdonk, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
2009 – Alexander Burinskii, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
2008 – T. Padmanabhan, IUCAA, Pune, India
2007 – S. Carlip, University of California at Davis
2006 – Vijay Balasubramanian, University of Pennsylvania; Donald Marolf, University of California at Santa Barbara and Moshe Rozali, University of British Columbia
2005 – John Ellis, CERN; N. E. Mavromatos, King’s College London and D. V. Nanopoulos, Texas A-and-M University
2004 – Maulik Parikh, Columbia University, New York
2003 – Martin Bojowald, The Pennsylvania State University
2002 – Steven B. Giddings, University of California at Santa Barbara and Stanford University
2001 – Csaba Csaki and Joshua Erlich, Los Alamos National Lab and Christophe Grojean, University of California at Berkeley
2000 – Arthur Lue and Erick J. Weinberg, Columbia University, New York
1999 – John Ellis, CERN; N. E. Mavromatos, University of Oxford and D. V. Nanopoulos, Texas A and M University

Buchalter Cosmology Prize

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The newly established Buchalter Cosmology Prize seeks to motivate and recognize innovative theoretical, observational, or experimental work in cosmology that has the potential to produce a breakthrough advance in our thinking. Submissions for the 2014 prize will be accepted through September 30th, 2014. Three prizes will be awarded, with $10,000 going to first place. Details can be found at http://www.buchaltercosmologyprize.org.

(submitted by Robert Caldwell)

REMINDER: The IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize

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Nomination Deadline: 1 February 2014

As an affiliated commission (AC2) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation (ISGRG) offers an annual IUPAP Young Scientist Prize. The IUPAP Young Scientist Prizes recognize outstanding achievements of scientists at early stages of their career. Each prize consists of a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient, a medal and 1000 euros.

The conditions for the prize are:

The IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize can be for work in any area of relativity and gravitation, theoretical or experimental.

On 1 February 2014, nominees must have a maximum of eight years of research experience (excluding career interruptions) following the Ph.D. (or equivalent) degree. They are expected to have displayed significant achievement and exceptional promise for future achievements in relativity and gravitation.

The primary nominator must be a member of the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation.

Nominations may be made by any member of ISGRG (other than the nominee) and should be accompanied by a CV, a proposed citation of 30-50 words summarizing the reason for the nomination, a list of publications and a description (about one page long) of the specific achievements of the nominee, who need not be an ISGRG member. The entire package should be bundled into a single PDF file and emailed to the Secretary of ISGRG, beverlyberger[AT]me.com, by 1 February 2014. The winner will be announced on 14 March 2014 and the award made shortly thereafter. The official presentation of the award will be made at the GR21 conference in 2016.

Through the generosity of Prof. Abhay Ashtekar (Penn State U), an Ashtekar Travel Award of $1000 will be presented to the winner as partial support for travel to GR21.

It is important that the selection committee has specific information that allows it to determine what the nominee has contributed and how this will impact the subject. Therefore it will be extremely helpful to the selection committee to receive at least two additional letters supporting the nomination that detail the expected significance of the contributions of the nominee.

It is also appropriate to submit additional materials such as published articles. In the case of co-authored or multi-authored publications, it is essential for nominators and supporters to discuss the nominee’s precise contributions, if known, in addition to the work’s overall significance.

GWIC Thesis Prize and Stefano Braccini Thesis Prize for 2013: Call for Nominations

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The Gravitational Wave International Committee is pleased to announce that nominations for the 2013 GWIC Thesis Prize and for the 2013 Stefano Braccini Thesis Prize are now open. Both prizes recognize outstanding PhD theses in the general area of gravitational waves. To better serve the community, GWIC and the Friends of Stefano Braccini have moved to coordinate the two Prizes. From now on, there will be a common call for nominations, and all theses submitted will be considered for both awards by a joint selection committee. Two winners will be selected, with the GWIC Thesis Prize emphasizing the impact of the research on the field of gravitational wave science, while the Braccini Thesis Prize will be awarded with an emphasis on innovation.

Members of the gravitational wave community are invited to nominate students who have performed notable research on any aspect of gravitational wave science. Theses will be judged on 1) originality and creativity of the research, 2) importance to the field of gravitational waves and gravitational wave detection, broadly interpreted, and 3) clarity of presentation. Each winner will receive a certificate of recognition and a prize of US$1,000.

Since 2010, GWIC has recommended the GWIC Prize Thesis for the book series Springer Theses. Subject to certain qualifications, Springer Theses publishes exceptional Ph.D. theses in the physical sciences in their entirety. Beginning in 2013, the Braccini Prize winner will also be recommended to Springer. If accepted, the winner will receive an additional €500 from Springer upon publication.

Eligibility: Both prizes are award on a calendar year basis. Theses should have been accepted by their institutions between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2013. It is expected that many of the nominations will come from the member projects of GWIC, but this is not a requirement. Nominated theses may be in any language. A committee selected from the gravitational wave community will evaluate the nominations and select the winner. The selection committee will make all determinations about eligibility.

Nominations: Nominations should be submitted to the selection committee chair (Andrea Possenti) by 15 January 2014. The nomination package consists of (i) the thesis, (ii) a letter of nomination, preferably from the thesis advisor, and (iii) an optional supporting letter from another scientist familiar with the work. The nomination and supporting letters should describe the importance and novelty of the research and how it supports GWIC’s goal to support the development of gravitational-waves as an astronomical tool.

Electronic submission of the the thesis and letters is strongly preferred. Electronic copies of the nomination materials may be sent to gwic-braccini-prize@oa-cagliari.inaf.it, with a copy to stan@ligo.caltech.edu. Please note the following two restrictions on the names of files which can be handled at these addresses:

i) The filename cannot contain more than 1 dot (i.e “.”). A file like mythesis.pdf is ok, while a file like my.thesis.pdf will be rejected.

ii) The filename cannot contain blank spaces, i.e. a file like “my thesis.pdf” will be rejected.

If electronic submission is impossible, please contact stan@ligo.caltech.edu for instructions concerning paper submission.

Nominations open: 2014 IUPAP GRG Young Scientist Prize

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Nomination Deadline 1 February 2014
The IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize

As an affiliated commission (AC2) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation (ISGRG) offers an annual IUPAP Young Scientist Prize. The IUPAP Young Scientist Prizes recognize outstanding achievements of scientists at early stages of their career. Each prize consists of a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient, a medal and 1000 euros.

The conditions for the prize are:

The IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize can be for work in any area of relativity and gravitation, theoretical or experimental.

On 1 February 2014, nominees must have a maximum of eight years of research experience (excluding career interruptions) following the Ph.D. (or equivalent) degree. They are expected to have displayed significant achievement and exceptional promise for future achievements in relativity and gravitation.

The primary nominator must be a member of the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation.
Nominations may be made by any member of ISGRG (other than the nominee) and should be accompanied by a CV, a proposed citation of 30-50 words summarizing the reason for the nomination, a list of publications and a description (about one page long) of the specific achievements of the nominee, who need not be an ISGRG member. The entire package should be bundled into a single PDF file and emailed to the Secretary of ISGRG, beverlyberger[AT]me.com, by 1 February 2014. The winner will be announced on 14 March 2014 and the award made shortly thereafter. The official presentation of the award will be made at the GR21 conference in 2016.
Through the generosity of Prof. Abhay Ashtekar (Penn State U), an Ashtekar Travel Award of $1000 will be presented to the winner as partial support for travel to GR21.
It is important that the selection committee has specific information that allows it to determine what the nominee has contributed and how this will impact the subject. Therefore it will be extremely helpful to the selection committee to receive at least two additional letters supporting the nomination that detail the expected significance of the contributions of the nominee. It is also appropriate to submit additional materials such as published articles.
In the case of co-authored or multi-authored publications, it is essential for nominators and supporters to discuss the nominee’s precise contributions, if known, in addition to the work’s overall significance.

GWIC Thesis Prize and Stefano Braccini Thesis Prize for 2013: 1st Announcement

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The Gravitational Wave International Committee is pleased to announce that nominations for the 2013 GWIC Thesis Prize and for the 2013 Stefano Braccini Thesis Prize will soon be open. Both prizes recognize outstanding PhD theses in the general area of gravitational waves. To better serve the community, GWIC and the Friends of Stefano Braccini have moved to coordinate the two Prizes. From now on, there will be a common call for nominations, and all theses submitted will be considered for both awards by a joint selection committee. Two winners will be selected, with the GWIC Thesis Prize emphasizing the impact of the research on the field of gravitational wave science, while the Braccini Thesis Prize will be awarded with an emphasis on innovation.

Members of the gravitational wave community are invited to nominate students who have performed notable research on any aspect of gravitational wave science. Theses will be judged on 1) originality and creativity of the research, 2) importance to the field of gravitational waves and gravitational wave detection, broadly interpreted, and 3) clarity of presentation. Each winner will receive a certificate of recognition and a prize of US$1,000.

Since 2010, GWIC has recommended the GWIC Prize Thesis for the book series Springer Theses. Subject to certain qualifications, Springer Theses publishes exceptional Ph.D. theses in the physical sciences in their entirety. Beginning in 2013, the Braccini Prize winner will also be recommended to Springer. If accepted, the winner will receive an additional €500 from Springer upon publication.

Eligibility: Both prizes are award on a calendar year basis. Theses should have been accepted by their institutions between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2013. It is expected that many of the nominations will come from the member projects of GWIC, but this is not a requirement. Nominated theses may be in any language. A committee selected from the gravitational wave community will evaluate the nominations and select the winner. The selection committee will make all determinations about eligibility.

A second announcement with instructions about how to submit nominations will be issued on December 1.

Giulio Rampa Thesis Prize 2014 edition

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The University of Pavia is glad to announce the 2014 edition of the Giulio Rampa Thesis Prize For Outstanding Research in Mathematical or Numerical General Relativity. This international prize is sponsored by the University of Pavia to honor the memory of the young physicist Giulio Rampa who, in his short life, had a profound impact on his fellow students and the faculty of the Department of Physics of the University of Pavia. The GRT prize is given, every two years, to a graduate student for outstanding research in mathematical or numerical general relativity.

Call for nominations for the 2014 edition of The Giulio Rampa Thesis Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematical or Numerical Relativity

The prize has been established in 2011, and is endowed under the terms of a bequest from Nadia and Giorgio Rampa. The GRT prize carries a certificate and a net check for € 2,000 together with coverage of travel and local expenses for attending the award ceremony.

Any student who graduated in a university or research centre in Europe is eligible to be considered for this prize. European citizenship is NOT required. The prize recipient’s Ph.D. Thesis must be submitted for consideration by a nominator, preferably via e-mail, to:

Secretariat of The Rampa Prize Committee,
c/o Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics,
Via Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy
e-mail: rampa.prize[AT]pv.infn.it

Self nominations will not be considered. It is the nominator’s responsibility to ensure that his/her candidate submits the required documentation. In particular, all nominated applicants must submit, preferably by e-mail, the application form, a copy of the thesis, a letter of recommendation from their thesis advisor, one or more letters of endorsement substantiating the candidate contributions, thesis reader comments, a one-page abstract of the thesis, and a C.V. to the above address.

The following criteria are reviewed when selecting the Giulio Rampa prize recipient: (i) Originality of Contribution, (ii) Breadth of Work, (iii) Publications, (iv) Quality of Nomination, (v) Quality of Endorsement.

The recipients of the prize are to be selected by a standing joint committee of the Graduate School in Physics of The University of Pavia and of The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), Potsdam.

The decisions of the Committee are final and will be communicated by May the 31st, 2014. The 2014 prize will be awarded to a Ph. D. Thesis submitted for consideration no later than January 31, 2014, on behalf of students who graduated between January 2012- December 2013.

The prize will be presented at the annual Honors Ceremony during the Inauguration of the Graduate Studies Academic Year in Pavia, in December 2014.

The Daniel Chalonge Medal 2013

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Ecole Internationale d’Astrophysique Daniel Chalonge
http://chalonge.obspm.fr

The Daniel Chalonge Medal 2013 has been awarded to Professor Gerard F. GILMORE

The International School of Astrophysics Daniel Chalonge has awarded the Daniel Chalonge Medal 2013 to Professor Gerard F. Gilmore from the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge UK and Fellow of the Royal Society, for his relevant results in the study of our galaxy and dwarf galaxies with great scientific impact on the nature of dark matter, a major subject at the center of the Chalonge School programmes. His successful effort in promoting and leading key missions and collaborations is also highlighted. Gerard Gilmore is lecturer from many years in several colloquia of the School and contributes to it with scientific research, projects and formation of physicists and astrophysicists over the world.

The Chalonge medal is a totally surprise award. The medal was presented to Gerard Gilmore on the 26th July 2013 during the open session of the 17th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2013 at the Paris Observatory in the presence of many distinguished scientists and very important personalities. Gerry Gilmore expressed “I can confirm the medal was a totally surprise to me”. We are then all happy the event successfully attained the objective.

The Chalonge Medal is coined exclusively for the Chalonge School by the Hotel de la Monnaie de Paris (the French Mint) and only ten Chalonge medals have been awarded in the 22 year school history:

1991: Subramanyan Chandrasekhar, Nobel prize of physics.
1992: Bruno Pontecorvo.
2006: George Smoot, Nobel prize of physics.
2007: Carlos Frenk.
2008: Anthony Lasenby.
2008: Bernard Sadoulet.
2009: Peter Biermann.
2011: John Mather, Nobel prize of physics.
2012: Brian Schmidt, Nobel prize of Physics.
2013: Gerard F. Gilmore, Fellow of the Royal Society

With the Chalonge Medal, the International School of Astrophysics Daniel Chalonge confirms its great appreciation to Professor Gerard Gilmore, his precision study of our galaxy and his contribution to the Chalonge School.

Announcement, full history and photo gallery: http://chalonge.obspm.fr/Medal_Chalonge2013.pdf

Gerard Gilmore’s Lecture 2013 http://chalonge.obspm.fr/Paris13_Gilmore.pdf

Photo Gallery http://chalonge.obspm.fr/album2013/index.html

The Chalonge Archives http://chalonge.obspm.fr/Archives_Daniel_Chalonge.html

The Chalonge School http://chalonge.obspm.fr

With compliments and kind regards

Norma G. Sanchez, Hector J. de Vega

2013 Awards for Essays on Gravitation: results

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GRAVITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION
PO BOX 81389
WELLESLEY HILLS MA
02481-0004 USA

The trustees are pleased to announce the Awards for Essays for 2013.

1. $4,000 – Information Conservation Is Fundamental: Recovering the Lost Information in Hawking Radiation by Baocheng Zhang[1], Qing-yu Cai[1], Ming-sheng Zhan[1], and Li You[2]; [1]Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, People’s Republic of China, [2]Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; e-mail: zhangbc[AT]wipm.ac.cn, qycai[AT]wipm.ac.cn, mszhan[AT]wipm.ac.cn, lyou[AT]mail.tsinghua.edu.cn

2. $1,250 – What Is the Shape of the Initial State? by Nishant Agarwal[1], R. Holman[2], and Andrew J. Tolley[3]; [1]McWilliams Center for Cosmology, Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, [2]Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, [3]Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106; e-mail: nishanta[AT]andrew.cmu.edu, rh4a[AT]andrew.cmu.edu, andrew.j.tolley[AT]case.edu

3. $1,000 – What Happens at the Horizon? by Samir D. Mathur, Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210; e-mail: mathur.16[AT]osu.edu

4. $750 – On Negative Mass by Jonathan Belletete and M.B. Paranjape; Departement de Physique, Universite de Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3C 3J7; e-mail: jonathan.belletete[AT]umontreal.ca, paranj[AT]lps.umontreal.ca

5. $500 – Dark Energy with Rigid Voids versus Relativistic Voids Alone by Boudewijn F. Roukema; Nicolaus Copernicus University, ul. Gagarina 11, 87-100 Torun, Poland; e-mail: boud[AT]astro.uni.torun.pl

Selected for Honorable Mention this year were (listed in alphabetical order):
A. Accioly, J. Helayel-Neto, E. Scatena, R. Turcati; S. L. Adler; H. Arponen; M. Arzano, S. Bianco, O. Dreyer; A. Bagchi, D. Grumiller; T. Banks; S. Basilakos, J. Ademir Sales Lima, J. Sola’; A. Bhattacharyya, A. Sinha; T. Biswas; X. Calmet; S. Capozziello, T. Harko, F. S.N. Lobo, G. J. Olmo; L. Nam Chang, Z. Lewis, D. Minic, T. Takeuchi; Bin Chen, Jia-ju Zhang; B. D. Chowdhury; U.a Das, B. Mukhopadhyay; P. Girdhar, A. Kobakhidze; H. M. Haggard, C. Rovelli; R. T. Hammond; S. Hod; T. Jacobson; A. Kaya; T. S. Koivisto, D. E. Wills; B. Majumder; J. Mielczarek; D. G. Moore, V. H. Satheeshkumar; S. Mukoyama, J.-P. Uzan; D. Neill, I. Z. Rothstein; Y. Jack Ng; H. Padmanabhan, T. Padmanabhan; K. Papadodimas, S. Raju; K. Ropotenko; P. A. Sanchez, M. Bellini; C. Sivaram; M. Smerlak; D. Stojkovic; H. Telkamp; Li Xiang, Yi Ling, You Gen Shen.

This announcement and abstracts of award-winning and honorable mention essays will be posted when ready on our web site, http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org. The five award-winning essays will be posted on our web site and published in a special issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMPD).

The 2013 Bronstein Prize in Loop Quantum Gravity

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During the celebration of 25 years of Loop Quantum Gravity at Madrid, a new prize for Post-doctoral scholars in Loop Quantum Gravity was created. It is named after Matvei Petrovich Bronstein, who was the first to emphasize that quantum gravity requires a deep revision of classical space-time concepts. He wrote his Ph.D. thesis on Quantization of Gravitational Waves in 1935. He clearly understood the limitation of applying the Bohr-Rosenfeld QED measurement analysis to gravity. He derived the quantum analog of Einstein’s quadrupole formula but emphasized the need to go beyond linearized gravity. See for example, the Golden Oldie article: Gen Relativity and Gravitation (2012) 44:267-283 Bronstein was considered by many as the brightest of the young Soviet physicists in the mid-1930’s. He was arrested on trumped-up charges in 1937 and executed in 1938. An account appears in http://www.chukfamily.ru/Lidia/Biblio/House.htm

Nominations for the 2013 Bronstein Prize are invited. The nominee should have been a post-doc in loop quantum gravity (interpreted widely) for some period between the Loops11 and Loops13 conferences. The nomination packet should consist of: i) A ~1 page nomination letter summarizing the specific achievements to date of the nominee; ii) A complete CV and a publication list of the nominee; iii) 1-2 letters of support from experts emphasizing the broad significance of all research contributions to date of the nominee; and, iv) A proposed citation. Self nominations will not be considered. The entire packet should be bundled into a single PDF file and e-mailed to Ms. Randi Neshteruk (rxh1[AT]psu.edu) by April 30th 2013.

The prize consisting of a certificate and a monetary reward will be presented during the Loops 2013 conference, which will be held at the Perimeter Institute, Canada, during July 22-26.

2013 Awards for Essays on Gravitation (reminder)

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GRAVITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION
PO BOX 81389
WELLESLEY HILLS MA 02481-0004
USA

2013 Awards for Essays on Gravitation

In 2013, for our sixty-fourth competition, the trustees of the Gravity Research Foundation are offering five awards for short essays for the purpose of stimulating thought and encouraging work on gravitation. The stipulations follow.

(1) We will make these Awards on May 15, 2013 for the best well-written essays, 1500 words or less (excluding abstracts, diagrams, references and minimal equations), on the subject of gravitation, its theory, applications, or effects.

(2) The First Award will be $4000.00
The Second Award will be 1250.00
The Third Award will be 1000.00
The Fourth Award will be 750.00
The Fifth Award will be 500.00

(3) Essays must be in English and e-mailed in a single PDF file before April 1, 2013. Early submission is desirable. One essay only will be accepted from each author. Notify us within 24 hours if you do not receive an e-mail confirmation of your submission.

(4) Title pages should include essay title; authors’ names, complete mailing and e-mail addresses; submission date; an abstract of 125 words or less; and the statement: “Essay written for the Gravity Research Foundation 2013 Awards for Essays on Gravitation.” Pages should be numbered.

(5) The decision of the judges will be final and no reviews or comments will be provided.

(6) Please check the winners’ announcement to be posted on our website: http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org around May 15, 2013. We will also attempt to send all participants a general e-mail notification.

(7) The five award-winning essays will be published in a special issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMPD). Authors of essays designated Honorable Mention will be invited to submit their essays to the IJMPD where these may undergo additional refereeing at editorial discretion for possible publication. Authors of all other essays are free and encouraged to publish their essays after May 15th.

Submission e-mail address: George M. Rideout, Jr., President (grideoutjr[AT]aol.com)

Recent First Award Winners:
2012 – Claus Kiefer and Manuel Kraemer, University of Cologne, Koeln, Germany
2011 – Ivan Agullo, Penn State and Leonard Parker, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2010 – Mark Van Raamsdonk, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
2009 – Alexander Burinskii, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
2008 – T. Padmanabhan, IUCAA, Pune, India
2007 – S. Carlip, University of California at Davis
2006 – Vijay Balasubramanian, University of Pennsylvania; Donald Marolf, University of California at Santa Barbara and Moshe Rozali, University of British Columbia
2005 – John Ellis, CERN; N. E. Mavromatos, King’s College London and D. V. Nanopoulos, Texas A and M University
2004 – Maulik Parikh, Columbia University, New York
2003 – Martin Bojowald, The Pennsylvania State University
2002 – Steven B. Giddings, University of California at Santa Barbara and Stanford University, Stanford, California
2001 – Csaba Csaki and Joshua Erlich, Los Alamos National Lab and Christophe Grojean, University of California at Berkeley
2000 – Arthur Lue and Erick J. Weinberg, Columbia University, New York
1999 – John Ellis, CERN; N. E. Mavromatos, University of Oxford and D. V. Nanopoulos, Texas A and M University
1998 – Viqar Husain, University of British Columbia, Vancouver

New: IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize

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Deadline for nominations: 15 February 2013

As an affiliated commission (AC2) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation (GRG Society) has been granted permission for an annual IUPAP Young Scientist Prize, to be offered first in 2013. The IUPAP Young Scientist Prizes (see http://www.iupap.org/youngscientist/page_50920.html) recognize outstanding achievements of scientists at early stages of their career. Each prize consists of a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient, a Medal and 1000 euros.

The conditions for the prize are:

The IUPAP General Relativity and Gravitation Young Scientist Prize can be for work in any area of relativity and gravitation, theoretical or experimental. On 15 February 2013, nominees must have a maximum of eight years of research experience (excluding career interruptions) following the Ph.D. (or equivalent) degree. They are expected to have displayed significant achievement and exceptional promise for future achievements in relativity and gravitation.

Nominations may be made by any member of the GRG Society (other than the nominee) and should be accompanied by a CV, a proposed citation of 30-50 words summarizing the reason for the nomination, a list of publications and a description (about one page long) of the specific achievements of the nominee, who need not be a GRG member. The entire package should be bundled into a single PDF file and emailed to the President of the GRG Society (which is also Affiliated Commission 2 of IUPAP) at m.a.h.maccallum[AT]qmul.ac.uk by 15 February 2013. The award will be made at the GR20 conference.

It is important that the selection committee has specific information that allows it to determine what the nominee has contributed and how this will impact the subject. Therefore it will be extremely helpful to the selection committee to receive at least two additional letters supporting the nomination that detail the expected significance of the contributions of the nominee. It is also appropriate to submit additional materials such as published articles.

Questions may be addressed to Beverly K. Berger, Secretary, International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation (beverlyberger[AT]me.com).

2012 GWIC Thesis Prize: Call for Nominations

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The Gravitational Wave International Committee (GWIC) was formed to promote international collaboration and cooperation in the construction, operation and use of gravitational wave detection facilities world-wide. To this end, GWIC has established an annual prize for the outstanding Ph.D. thesis based on research in gravitational waves.

Nominations for the 2012 Prize are now open. Members of the gravitational wave community are invited to nominate students who have performed notable research on any aspect of gravitational wave science. Theses will be judged on 1) originality and creativity of the research, 2) importance to the field of gravitational waves and gravitational wave detection, broadly interpreted, and 3) clarity of presentation. The recipient will receive a certificate of recognition and a prize of $1,000.

Since 2010, GWIC has an arrangement with Springer. Subject to qualifying criteria, the prize-winning thesis will be nominated for Springer Theses, a new book series in which exceptional Ph.D. theses in the physical sciences are published in their entirety. The winner will receive an additional €500 from Springer upon publication.

Eligibility: The award is made on a calendar year basis. Theses should have been accepted by their institutions between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2012. It is expected that many of the nominations will come from the member projects of GWIC, but this is not a requirement. Nominated theses may be in any language. A committee selected from the gravitational wave community will evaluate the nominations and select the winner. The selection committee will make all determinations about eligibility.

Nominations: Nominations should be submitted to the selection committee chair (Michele Vallisneri, Michele.Vallisneri[AT]jpl.nasa.gov, with a copy to gwic-exsec[AT]gravity.psu.edu>) by 15 January 2013. The nomination package consists of (i) the thesis, (ii) a letter of nomination, preferably from the thesis advisor, and (iii) an optional supporting letter from another scientist familiar with the work. The nomination and supporting letters should describe the importance of the research and how it supports GWIC’s goals to promote construction and exploitation of gravitational-wave detectors, foster development of new or enhanced gravitational-wave detectors, and support the development of gravitational-waves as an astronomical tool. The thesis and letters may be submitted in electronic form (strongly preferred); please contact gwic-exsec[AT]gravity.psu.edu  for instructions concerning paper submission.

Deadline extension to 15 Nov 2012 for Jurgen Ehlers Thesis Prize and Bergman-Wheeler Thesis Prize

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Dear Colleagues,

The deadlines for submission of nomination for the Jürgen Ehlers Thesis Prize for an outstanding Ph.D. thesis in mathematical and numerical relativity and the Bergman-Wheeler Thesis Prize for a outstanding Ph.D. thesis in the broad area of quantum gravity have been extended to 15 November 2012.

Additional information on the prizes and directions for submission of nominations may be found at

http://www.isgrg.org/ehlersprize.php

and

http://www.isgrg.org/bergwheelprize.php.

For both prizes, the nominator must be a member of the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation (ISGRG) and can make at most one nomination. The nominee need not be a member of the Society but the official defense must have taken place between September 1, 2009 and August 31, 2012.

Please direct any questions regarding ISGRG membership to me.

Sincerely,

Beverly K. Berger
Secretary, ISGRG
beverlyberger[AT]me.com

Ecole Internationale d’Astrophysique Daniel Chalonge: The Chalonge Medal 2012

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Ecole Internationale d’Astrophysique Daniel Chalonge

The Daniel Chalonge Medal 2012 has been awarded to Professor Brian SCHMIDT

The International Astrophysics School Daniel Chalonge has awarded the Daniel Chalonge Medal 2012 to Professor Brian P. Schmidt, Nobel Laureate of physics 2011 for his outstanding contribution to the discovery of the present accelerated expansion of the Universe, deeply discussed in the framework of the Chalonge School.

Brian Schmidt was lecturer in several courses of the School, and from the very beginning in the discovery of the acceleration of the Universe, which motivated the realization of very important projects in cosmology and the training and formation of young physicists and astrophysicists over the world.

The medal was presented to Brian Schmidt during the Open Session of the 16th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2012 at the Observatoire de Paris HQ (historic Perrault building) in the Cassini Hall, on the meridian of Paris, which was attended by about hundred participants from the world over, among them four laureates of the Chalonge Medal: John Mather and George Smoot, Nobel laureates of physics, Anthony Lasenby and Peter Biermann.

The Chalonge Medal, coined exclusively for the Chalonge School by the prestigious Hotel de la Monnaie de Paris (the French Mint), is a surprise award and only nine Chalonge medals have been awarded in the 21 year school history.The list of the awarded Chalonge Medals is the following:

1991:Subramanyan Chandrasekhar, Nobel prize of physics. 1992: Bruno Pontecorvo. 2006: George Smoot, Nobel prize of physics. 2007: Carlos Frenk. 2008: Anthony Lasenby. 2008: Bernard Sadoulet. 2009: Peter Biermann. 2011: John Mather, Nobel prize of physics. 2012: Brian Schmidt, Nobel prize of Physics.

With the Chalonge Medal, the International School of Astrophysics Daniel Chalonge confirms its great appreciation to Dr. Brian Schmidt and his huge contribution to the construction of the Standard Model of the Universe, at the center of the Chalonge School programmes. This recognizes the outstanding scientific value and impact of the discovery of the dark energy component, compatible with the cosmological constant, which constitutes about three quarters of the content of the Universe.

See the announcement, full history, photo gallery and links at:

http://chalonge.obspm.fr
http://chalonge.obspm.fr/Medal_Chalonge2012.pdf
http://chalonge.obspm.fr/Archives_Daniel_Chalonge.html
http://www.planetastronomy.com/special/2012-special/27jul/chalonge-cosmo.htm

With compliments and kind regards

Norma G. Sanchez, Hector J.de Vega

Ecole Chalonge chalonge.ecole[at]obspm.fr
http://chalonge.obspm.fr

Thomas-Paul Hack awarded 2012 Giulio Rampa Thesis Prize

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We are pleased to announce that the 2012 Giulio Rampa Thesis Prize for outstanding research in Mathematical or Numerical General Relativity will be presented to Dr. Thomas-Paul Hack.

The committee consisting of Profs. Gerhard Huisken (Chair), Lars Andersson, Mauro Carfora, Luciano Rezzolla prepared the following citation:

“Dr. Hack’s thesis On the Backreaction of Scalar and Spinor Quantum Fields in Curved Spacetimes marks a breakthrough for a thorough evaluation of quantum effects of matter for cosmology. It provides a relevant contribution to the field and will constitute an extremely valuable reference in the area of quantum fields in curved spacetimes and its cosmological applications.”

The prize is sponsored by The University of Pavia to honor the memory of Giulio Rampa and is given, every two years, to a graduate student for outstanding research in mathematical or numerical general relativity. The prize has been established in 2011, and is endowed under the terms of a bequest from Nadia and Giorgio Rampa.

See:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/06/giulio-rampa-thesis-prize-for-outstanding-research-in-mathematical-or-numerical-relativity/
and
http://www-2.unipv.it/dottorati/scienzeetecnologie/fisica/n/web_PhD/

The GRT prize carries a certificate and a net check of 2,000 EUR. The prize will be presented at the annual Honors Ceremony during the Inauguration of the Graduate Studies Academic Year in Pavia, in December 2012.

The next GRT prize will be awarded in 2014 to a Ph.D. Thesis submitted by a nominator no later than January 31, 2014, on behalf of students who graduated between January 2012 – December 2013.

2013 Awards for Essays on Gravitation

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GRAVITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION
PO BOX 81389
WELLESLEY HILLS MA 02481-0004
USA

2013 Awards for Essays on Gravitation

In 2013, for our sixty-fourth competition, the trustees of the Gravity Research Foundation are offering five awards for short essays for the purpose of stimulating thought and encouraging work on gravitation. The stipulations follow.

(1) We will make these Awards on May 15, 2013 for the best well-written essays, 1500 words or less (excluding abstracts, diagrams, references and minimal equations), on the subject of gravitation, its theory, applications, or effects.

(2) The First Award will be $4000.00
The Second Award will be 1250.00
The Third Award will be 1000.00
The Fourth Award will be 750.00
The Fifth Award will be 500.00

(3) Essays must be in English and e-mailed in a single PDF file before April 1, 2013. Early submission is desirable. One essay only will be accepted from each author. Notify us within 24 hours if you do not receive an e-mail confirmation of your submission.

(4) Title pages should include essay title; authors’ names, complete mailing and e-mail addresses; submission date; an abstract of 125 words or less; and the statement: “Essay written for the Gravity Research Foundation 2013 Awards for Essays on Gravitation.” Pages should be numbered.

(5) The decision of the judges will be final and no reviews or comments will be provided.

(6) Please check the winners’ announcement to be posted on our website: http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org around May 15, 2013. We will also attempt to send all participants a general e-mail notification.

(7) The five award-winning essays will be published in a special issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMPD). Authors of essays designated Honorable Mention will be invited to submit their essays to the IJMPD where these may undergo additional refereeing at editorial discretion for possible publication. Authors of all other essays are free and encouraged to publish their essays after May 15th.

Submission e-mail address: George M. Rideout, Jr., President (grideoutjr[AT]aol.com)

Recent First Award Winners:
2012 – Claus Kiefer and Manuel Kraemer, University of Cologne, Koeln, Germany
2011 – Ivan Agullo, Penn State and Leonard Parker, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2010 – Mark Van Raamsdonk, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
2009 – Alexander Burinskii, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
2008 – T. Padmanabhan, IUCAA, Pune, India
2007 – S. Carlip, University of California at Davis
2006 – Vijay Balasubramanian, University of Pennsylvania; Donald Marolf, University of California at Santa Barbara and Moshe Rozali, University of British Columbia
2005 – John Ellis, CERN; N. E. Mavromatos, King’s College London and D. V. Nanopoulos, Texas A and M University
2004 – Maulik Parikh, Columbia University, New York
2003 – Martin Bojowald, The Pennsylvania State University
2002 – Steven B. Giddings, University of California at Santa Barbara and Stanford University, Stanford, California
2001 – Csaba Csaki and Joshua Erlich, Los Alamos National Lab and Christophe Grojean, University of California at Berkeley
2000 – Arthur Lue and Erick J. Weinberg, Columbia University, New York
1999 – John Ellis, CERN; N. E. Mavromatos, University of Oxford and D. V. Nanopoulos, Texas A and M University
1998 – Viqar Husain, University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Gravity Research Foundation, Awards for the Essays 2012

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GRAVITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION
PO BOX 81389
WELLESLEY HILLS MA 02481-0004
USA

Roger W. Babson, Founder
George M. Rideout, Jr., President

The trustees are pleased to announce the Awards for Essays for 2012.

1. $4,000 – Can Effects of Quantum Gravity Be Observed in the Cosmic Microwave Background? by Claus Kiefer and Manuel Kraemer, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Cologne, Zuelpicher Strasse 77, 50937 Koeln, Germany; e-mail: kiefer[AT]thp.uni-koeln.de mk[AT]thp.uni-koeln.de

2. $1,250 – What Can the Information Paradox Tell Us about the Early Universe? by Samir D. Mathur, Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210; e-mail: mathur[AT]mps.ohio-state.edu

3. $1,000 – The Unbearable Beingness of Light – Dressing and Undressing Photons in Black Hole Spacetimes by Timothy J. Hollowood and Graham M. Shore, Department of Physics, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK: e-mail: t.hollowood[AT]swansea.ac.uk g.m.shore[AT]swansea.ac.uk

4. $750 – Holographic Space-Time by Tom Banks, NHETC and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8019, and SCIPP and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064-1077; e-mail: banks[AT]scipp.ucsc.edu

5. $500 – Secret Life of the Spacetime by T. Padmanabhan, IUCAA, Post Bag 4, Ganeshkhind, Pune – 411007, India; e-mail: paddy[AT]iucaa.ernet.in

Selected for Honorable Mention this year were (listed in alphabetical order) Giovanni Amelino-Camelia, Valerio Astuti and Giacomo Rosati; Jacob D. Bekenstein; Adam R. Brown and Alex Dahlen; Marcelo Botta Cantcheff; Marios Christodoulou, Aldo Riello and Carlo Rovelli; Joseph P. Conlon; Christian Corda; Lawrence B. Crowell; Upasana Das and Banibrata Mukhopadhyay; Arundhati Dasgupta and Adamantia Zampeli; Aharon Davidson and Ben Yellin; Henrique P. de Oliveira, Leopoldo A. Pando Zayas and Cesar A. Terrero-Escalante; Irina Dymnikova; Ariel Edery and Hugues Beauchesne; Homer G. Ellis; Tiberiu Harko and Francisco S. N. Lobo; Shahar Hod; Viqar Husain and Dawood Kothawala; Ted Jacobson; Priti Mishra and Tejinder P. Singh; Sujoy Kumar Modak and Douglas Singleton; Kouji Nakamura; M. B. Paranjape; Ira Z. Rothstein; Rolf Schimmrigk; C. Sivaram and Kenath Arun; Albert Stebbins; W.M. Stuckey, T.J. McDevitt and M. Silberstein; Yu Tian, Xiao-Ning Wu and Hongbao Zhang; Christos G. Tsagas; C. S. Unnikrishnan and G. T. Gillies; Ram Gopal Vishwakarma.

This announcement and abstracts of award-winning and honorable mention essays will be posted when ready on our web site, http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org. The five award-winning essays will be published in a special issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMPD). They will also be posted at a later date on our web site.

2012 IOP Gravitational Physics Group Thesis Prize (sponsored by CQG)

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The 2012 Institute of Physics Gravitational Physics Group Thesis Prize, sponsored by Classical and Quantum Gravity (CQG), will be made for excellence in postgraduate research and communication skills in gravitational physics. All members of the IOP Gravitational Physics Group who passed their PhD viva voce exam between 30 September 2010 and 31 December 2012 are entitled to enter the competition.

Note that the viva period for eligible candidates is longer than in previous years.

The winner will be awarded £500 and they will be invited to submit a paper to CQG based on the winning thesis which, if accepted, will be made a ’select article’ in CQG. Furthermore, the winner will be given the opportunity to present their work at one of the UK BritGrav meetings.

Anyone (student or otherwise) can nominate a candidate (including the candidate themselves). If you have someone in mind, please send an email to the IOP Gravitational Physics Group secretary (David Burton at d.burton[AT]lancaster.ac.uk) containing the candidate’s contact details and the committee will encourage them to enter the competition. The candidate must be a member of the IOP Gravitational Physics Group, and will be asked to provide their IOP membership number.

Please note that the student’s external PhD examiner must be willing to comment on the student’s research, quality of the student’s thesis and the student’s ability to cogently communicate their work (evidenced by their viva performance and/or seminars). Students are advised to consult their external examiner before entering the competition.