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Top scientist
Physics' Costas Soukoulis wins the top science prize in the European
Union
Costas Soukoulis, a senior physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s
Ames Laboratory and Distinguished Professor of physics and astronomy, coordinates
the research team that has won the Descartes Prize for Excellence in Scientific
Collaborative Research, the European Union’s highest honor in the field
of science.
He and his collaborators received the prestigious award for creating a novel
class of artificial metamaterials called left-handed materials, or LHMs,
which exhibit fascinating properties that cannot be found in naturally occurring
materials.
LHMs exhibit negative refraction, bending light in the opposite direction
to that seen in natural materials. They can be fabricated to have zero reflectance
for all angles hit by incoming electromagnetic waves. In addition, they
can focus light without the need for curved surfaces. These and other amazing
properties promise a wide range of potential applications for LHMs.
Soukoulis, who has also been an associate with the research center FORTH,
in Crete, Greece, since 1984, said he was lucky to work with a top-notch
team of international researchers in creating the new subclass of materials.
The team includes Professor Sir John Pendry, Imperial College, UK; Professor
Ekmel Ozbay, Bilkent University, Turkey; Professor Martin Wegener, University
of Karlsruhe, Germany; Professor David Smith, Duke University, USA; and
Professor E. N. Economou and Dr. Maria Kafesaki, both from FORTH and the
University of Crete.
The research team was awarded the Descartes Prize for Research in Physics
at a ceremony held at the Royal Society in London on Dec. 2. Of the 1,000,000
euro Descartes Prize money, the team members will share 200,000 euro ($235,
634) given for their winning project, "Extending Electromagnetism through
Novel Artificial Materials, or EXEL."
"Our EXEL team was able to demonstrate the experimental reality of
LHMs and their consistency with the laws of physics," said Soukoulis.
"This realization opened up the possibility of unprecedented applications
and devices."
The team has already shown how the ability to focus radio waves could lead
to smaller, better-performing magnetic resonance imaging machines for medical
and biomedical diagnostics. Numerous applications in the cellular communications
industry are also envisioned, including antennas and waveguides that are
100 times smaller and much lighter than those of today. Even slight improvements
to these types of devices can make a significant financial impact.
"It probably would be difficult to overstate the potential importance
of this historic scientific achievement to the future of optical technology,"
said Tom Barton, Ames Laboratory director. "The Ames Lab and Iowa State
are indeed proud of the pivotal role played by Professor Soukoulis."
Accepting the Descartes Prize, Soukoulis paid tribute to the organizations
that have supported his research on LHMs.
"I would like to express my gratitude to Ames Laboratory and Iowa State
University for accommodating my teaching duties to allow me to also pursue
research on left-handed materials in Europe," he said. "I would
like to thank the U.S. Department of Energy for their support during the
last 20 years. Our Ames Laboratory work on photonic crystals led to the
field of negative index materials and metamaterials."
The Descartes Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research, now in its sixth
year, recognizes outstanding scientific and technological results achieved
through international collaborative research in diverse disciplines. Winners
are selected by a grand jury of experts in science, industry and the general
public.
Saren Johnston, Ames Laboratory
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Costas Soukoulis accepts the Descartes Prize for Excellence in Scientific
Collaborative Research at the Royal Society in London, on Dec. 2. Members
of the winning collaborative team are, left to right: Stephan Linden (University
of Karlsruhe), Mike Wiltshire (Imperial College), Maria Kafesaki (FORTH),
David Smith (Duke University), Martin Weneger (University of Karlsruhe), Ekmel
Ozbay (Bilkent University), and Sir John Pendry (Imperial College).
Around LAS
January 9-22, 2006
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