AAPT
2012 Annual Report
23
Richtmyer Memorial Award
2012 Awardee: Brian Greene, Columbia University, New York, NY
Talk:
Cosmology, Dark Energy, and String Theory
Widely recognized for his groundbreaking discoveries in the field of superstring theory,
Greene is co-founder and director of Columbia University’s Institute for Strings, Cosmology,
and Astroparticle Physics. A popular lecturer and author, Greene’s first book, The Elegant
Universe, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction, and sold more than a
million copies worldwide. His subsequent books, The
Fabric of the Cosmos
and
The Hidden
Reality
, were also New York Times bestsellers.
Greene has made many media appearances from David Letterman to Charlie Rose and
the NOVA special based on
The Elegant Universe
, hosted by Greene, was nominated for three
Emmy Awards and won the Peabody Award and the French prix Jules Verne Award. The
four-part NOVA special based on
The Fabric of the Cosmos
, aired on PBS. His children’s story,
Icarus at the Edge of Time
, has been adapted for live symphonic presentation, with orchestral
score by Philip Glass, and premiered at Lincoln Center.
Greene is the co-founder of The World Science Festival, the nation’s premier science
celebration for the general public, which draws live audiences in the hundreds of thousands
and has been hailed by the New York Times as a “new cultural institution.”
The John David Jackson Award for Excellence in Graduate Physics Education
2012 Awardee: Kip Thorne, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
Talk:
Black Hole Research: A New Golden Age
In the late 1960’s and early 70’s Thorne laid the foundations for the theory of pulsations of
relativistic stars and the gravitational waves they emit. During the 70’s and 80’s he developed
mathematical formalisms by which astrophysicists analyze the generation of gravitational
waves and worked closely with Vladimir Braginsky, Ronald Drever and Rainer Weiss on
developing new technical ideas and plans for gravitational wave detection. He is widely
recognized as one of several people who have had the greatest influence on the field of General
Relativity over the past four decades.
Thorne is a co-founder (with Weiss and Drever) of the LIGO (Laser Interferometer
Gravitational Wave Observatory) Project and his research group has provided theoretical
support for LIGO, including identifying gravitational wave sources that LIGO should target,
laying foundations for data analysis techniques by which their waves will be sought, designing
the baffles to control scattered light in the LIGO beam tubes, and, in collaboration with
Vladimir Braginsky’s (Moscow Russia) research group, inventing quantum-nondemolition
designs for advanced gravity-wave detectors.
In June 2009 Thorne resigned his Feyman Professorship (becoming the Feynman Professor
of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus) in order to ramp up a new career in writing, movies,
and continued scientific research. His research has focused on gravitation physics and
astrophysics, with emphasis on relativistic stars, black holes and gravitational waves.
Thorne has been mentor and thesis advisor for many Ph.D. physicists who have gone on to
become world leaders in their chosen fields of research and teaching. A list of current leaders
in relativity, gravitational waves, relativistic astrophysics, and even quantum information
theory, would be heavily populated by his former graduate students. In 2004 his work was
recognized with the Caltech Graduate Student Council Mentoring Award.
Named for Floyd K. Richtmyer, distinguished physicist, teacher and administrator, and one of the founders of AAPT, the Richtmyer Memorial
Lecture Award recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to physics and their communication to physics educators.
Named in honor of outstanding physicist and teacher, John David Jackson, this award recognizes physicists and physics educators
who, like John David Jackson, have made outstanding contributions to curriculum development, mentorship, or classroom teaching in
graduate physics education.
