Charpak–Ritz Prize 2018 awarded to Roland Horisberger
Particle Physics (IPA)
The Charpak–Ritz Prize 2018, which is jointly awarded by the Swiss Physical Society and the French Physical Society, has been awarded to Roland Horisberger (PSI & ETH), for his numerous contributions to the development of precision silicon vertex detectors for particle physics experiments as well as for the application of these technologies in X-ray photon sciences.
The ground-breaking works of Roland Horisberger for the silicon-microstrip detector for the DELPHI experiment at LEP, the H1-central vertex detector at HERA and the CMS pixel detector for CMS have been crucial for the excellent physics performances and discoveries of these experiments. He successfully transferred these novel technologies, for instance the PILATUS pixel detectors, to the field of x-ray-photon sciences and in doing so enabled a large number of new scientific studies. With his group at PSI he has laid the foundations for the creation, in 2007, of a spin-off company that now is the market leader in single-photon-counting pixel detectors at synchrotrons worldwide.
The prize ceremony will take place at the Journées de la Matière Condensée on 27 August 2018 in Grenoble.
The Charpak–Ritz Prize
The French Physical Society and the Swiss Physical Society have created in 2016 the Charpak–Ritz Prize to highlight the tight relationship between the two Societies and to keep the memory alive of Georges Charpak (1924–2010) and Walther Ritz (1878–1909), who both have profoundly contributed to physics in their respective times. The prize distinguishes exceptional contributions in physics or in its development, to honor a physicist (or a small team of physicists) who has produced significant contributions, either in France (for awards in odd years) or in Switzerland (for awards in even years).