PHYSICS

Jorge Pullin, a professor in the LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy and Interim co-Director of the LSU Center for Computation & Technology, or CCT, is chairing the American Physical Society’s selection committee for the prestigious Einstein Prize. 

The Einstein Prize is an international honor awarded every two years that recognizes outstanding achievements in gravitational physics research. Previous winners are Peter Bergmann, John Wheeler, Bryce DeWitt, Rainer Weiss, Ronald Drever and Jim Hartle. Most of the previous winners are members of the National Academy of Sciences, and Bergmann and Wheeler were collaborators of Albert Einstein. The Einstein Prize is the most important honor the American Physical Society awards in this field. 

The society established the Einstein Prize in 1999. The recipient receives $10,000 and a certificate citing his or her contributions to advance understanding of gravitational physics.

Pullin, who is a member of the American Physical Society, served as vice chair for the committee that selected the 2009 Einstein Prize recipient, James Hartle of University of California - Santa Barbara. The society selected Pullin to chair the committee that will select the 2011 recipient. 

Society members can submit nominations through July 1, 2010, which Pullin and his committee will review. Pullin then will represent the committee in making a recommendation to the Council of the American Physical Society, and the 2011 recipient will be announced in November 2010. The chosen candidate will receive his or her award at the American Physical Society meeting April 30 - May 3, 2011, in Anaheim, California.

“This is one of the top physics research awards given worldwide, and I am honored to be part of the selection process, reviewing the research of international physics scholars to choose the 2011 recipient,” Pullin said. 

For more information on the Einstein Prize, please visit http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/einstein.cfm.