BIP
Physicist Ido Kaminer laureate of the European Lem Prize for Science for 2023
Experimental physicist Prof. Ido Kaminer has been awarded this year's Stanislaw Lem European Science Prize (Lem Prize) by the Wroclaw University of Technology. The young scientist is affiliated with the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
The chapter's decision was announced at the Wroclaw University of Technology's Celebration by Rector Prof. Arkadiusz Wojs.
Starting in 2019, the Lem Prize, worth PLN 100,000, will be awarded to young scientists (up to 40 years old) studying or conducting research in the European Union and associated countries.
The international chapter, chaired by Prof. Reimund Neugebauer, evaluates their recent discovery or significant achievement in the broad fields of science and engineering, with strong elements of technology, interdisciplinarity, creativity and vision. Sixteen nominations were submitted for this year's edition, including three from Poland.
Physicist Ido Kaminer. From theorist to experimenter
During the Celebration of the Wroclaw University of Technology, Prof. Arkadiusz Wojs, rector of the university, announced that the 2023 award went to Dr. Ido Kaminer of the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
According to the chapter, Prof. Ido Kaminer is a scientist who combines the brilliance of a theorist and the mastery of an experimentalist. His work has had a major impact on the science and technology communities. In particular, his "pioneering experimental and theoretical contributions to the field of quantum electrodynamics of photonic quasiparticles and the establishment of the foundations of quantum optics including free electrons" have been recognized.
He is a researcher with diverse interests in condensed matter physics, quantum optics, nanoscience and other fields. The scope, scale and impact of his achievements on the scientific community are in line with the high recognition of the Lem Prize.
Prof. Arkadiusz Wojs, rector of PWr.
A specialist in quantum electrodynamics. Prof. Ido Kaminer
Prof. Ido Kaminer helped establish the framework for light-matter interactions of photonic quasiparticles. The foundations of this field are based on macroscopic quantum electrodynamics (MQED), which the scientist has developed in the framework of new optical systems such as hyperbolic materials, nanophotonic platforms and 2D materials, predicting new phenomena in optical physics.
He is a pioneer in the field of light interactions with free electrons, i.e., new ways to use electrons in generating X-rays, studying coherent light-matter interactions with nanometer resolution, and recording the dynamics of photonic quasiparticles.
He devoted his doctoral thesis to the discovery of new classes of accelerating light beams in nonlinear optics and electromagnetism. For this achievement, he received an award from the American Physical Society (APS) in 2014.
He is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including.
- ERC Starting Grant,
- Moore Foundation grant, and the Schmidt Science Polymath Award 2022.
- Krill Prize 2021,
- Israel's Blavatnik Award in Physical Sciences & Engineering for 2021,
- Adolph Lomb Medal 2022, the most important international award for a young scientist (age 35 or younger) in optics.
The Stanislaw Lem European Science Prize (Lem Prize). Under the patronage of the author of Solaris
The Stanislaw Lem European Scientific Prize (Lem Prize) was established to commemorate the 100th birthday of the outstanding Polish novelist, who received an honorary doctorate from the Wroclaw University of Technology in 1981. The laureate is chosen by a chapter composed of prominent scientists from abroad and the Wroclaw University of Technology, as well as Tomasz Lem, the writer's son.
The founders and partners of the Lem Prize 2023 are:
- Bergman Engineering,
- Nokia,
- Empiria and Knowledge Foundation,
- PGE Gornictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna SA,
- PCC Rokita SA
- PKO Bank Polski.