Lee Osheroff Richardson Prize Winner Announced

Oxford Instruments is pleased to announce the 2010 winner of the Lee Osheroff Richardson North American Science Prize is Dr Vivien Zapf, from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Los Alamos.

Dr Zapf is recognised for notable achievements in making the definitive experimental verification of the applicability of the Bose-Einstein condensation universality class to magnetic field-induced phases in quantum magnets,
requiring the development of experimental techniques at ultra-low temperatures. Dr Zapf graduated at the University of California and then took a postdoctoral position at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Dr Zapf has been presented with the prize by the Nobel Prize winner Dr Lee at the Oxford Instruments “Socialise with Science” event at the APS2010 March show in Portland, USA.

Professor Bruce Gaulin from Mc Master University and Prize Committee Chairman commented: “Dr Vivien S. Zapf was selected from a very strong cohort of nominees. Her selection was in recognition of her careful and innovative work at low temperatures and high magnetic fields, which elucidated the nature of the Bose-Einstein condensate in the quantum magnet NiCl2-4SC(NH2)2 and for sustained contributions to the low temperature characterisation of new materials.”

The Lee Osheroff Richardson North American Science Prize, endorsed by the British Embassy Washington DC, is named after David M. Lee, Douglas D. Osheroff and Robert C. Richardson who were joint winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1996, for their discovery of superfluidity in 3He. The prize winner receives $8000, a unique trophy and certificate and the opportunity to present their work at a conference. Nominations are assessed by a committee of senior scientists from across North America.

Previous winners of the prize are Dr Christian Lupien, Dr Jason Petta, Dr Suchitra Sebastian and Dr Eunseong Kim.