Institute for Physical Sciences and Technology

Welcome to IPST

The primary mission of the Institute for Physical Science and Technology (IPST) is to foster excellence in interdisciplinary research and education at the University of Maryland.  IPST accomplishes this by Integrating People, Science & Technology.

 

News

Election to Royal Society of Chemistry and Humboldt Research Award - 2009

Professor Devarajan Thirumalai, of the Institute for Physical Science and Technology and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has just been elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (http://www.rsc.org).  He has also received a Humboldt Research Award for Senior U.S. Scientists in recognition of his past accomplishments in research and teaching.

John D. Weeks elected to the National Academy of Sciences, April 28, 2009

John D. Weeks, Distinguished University Professor, Institute for Physical Science and Technology and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences April 28, 2009.

The National Academy of Sciences announced the election of 72 new members and 18 foreign associates from 15 countries in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. The election was held April 28, 2009 during the business session of the 146th annual meeting of the Academy. Those elected today bring the total number of active members to 2,150. Foreign associates are nonvoting members of the Academy, with citizenship outside the United States. Today's election brings the total number of foreign associates to 404. Press Release.

2008-09 Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year

At the opening session of Undergraduate Research Day on Wednesday, April 22, 2009, Dr. Arthur La Porta was awarded the 2008-2009 Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year Award.  Dr. La Porta, who has a joint appointment in IPST and the Department of Physics, was nominated by his student Matthew Barr who said, "Working under Professor La Porta has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my college education.  He has put together a lab in which an undergraduate student can feel a sense of pride from playing an important role in real research".

Professor Fisher Awarded Ph.D. Honoris Causa by Weizmann Institute

The Weizmann Institute of Science has conferred upon Professor Michael E. Fisher the title of Ph.D. honoris causa. Professor Fisher joins an illustrious group of men and women who have been honored by the Weizmann Institute in recognition of their outstanding contributions to science or society. The ceremony of conferment will take place at the 61st Annual Meeting of the Institute's International Board on Monday, November 9, 2009 in Rehovot, Israel.

2009 Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics, American Physical Society
Dr. Stephen G. Brush has been awarded the 2009 Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics.  The award to Dr. Brush was "For his pioneering, in-depth studies in the history of nineteenth and twentieth century physics."
http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/pais.cfm

2008 Nicholson Medal for Human Outreach, American Physical Society
Dr. Katepalli Sreenivasan has been awarded the 2008 Nicholson Medal for Human Outreach.  The Medal was established in 1994 to recognize the humanitarian aspects of physics and physicists and consists of a medal and a certificate that includes the citation for which you are being recognized.   The citation that will appear on the certificate reads as follows:
“For his commitment to mentoring students and junior colleagues and his significant contributions to fostering international collaborations and promoting the advancement and education of early career scientists from the developing world.”
The Nicholson Medal will be presented at the APS March 2009 meeting in Pittsburgh, PA.

2008 Members Elected to the Amerian Philosophical Society
Roald Sagdeev, Director, East-West Center for Space Science, and Distinguished University Professor of Physics, has been elected to the American Philosophical Society.

Election to the APS honors extraordinary accomplishments in all fields. The APS is unusual among learned societies because its membership is comprised of top scholars from a wide variety of academic disciplines.

Nomination and Election
The APS is an honorary society that elects new members to their ranks each year in April. Nominations for membership can only be made by Resident members of the APS.
http://www.amphilsoc.org/
http://www.amphilsoc.org/members/2008NewMembersPR.doc

R&D 100 Award for New NIST/UMD Neutron Detector

Michael Coplan, Associate Director of IPST, and Director of the Chemical Physics Program, and Charles Clark of NIST, and Adjunct Professor of the Chemical Physics Program, have been selected to receive a 2008 R&D 100 Award for their work on a new hi gh sensitivity, high bandwidth neutron detector developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland (UMD). The annual R&D 100 Awards program recognizes "the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the market" during the previous year, as selected by an independent judging panel and the editors of R&D Magazine.

Neutron detectors are important in many applications, ranging from fundamental physics experiments to materials science, reactor operations, oil well logging, monitoring of special nuclear materials, and personal protective equipment for first responders.  The Lyman alpha neutron detector (LAND) detects neutrons by measuring "Lyman alpha" radiation in the far ultraviolet region of the spectrum when neutrons are absorbed by a helium isotope.  A LAND instrument is mechanically robust and requires no specialized fabrication techniques or ultrahigh purity gases. A U.S. patent application based on the LAND technology has been filed and a paper on LAND principles was published in the NIST Journal of Research in April 2008.

For additional items, please follow the link to our News & Events page.
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Updated 6/4/09