Two Physics Alumni share APS Bonner Prize

Physics Alumni Steven C. Pieper (PhD 1970) and Robert B. Wiringa (MS 1974, PhD 1978) will share the 2010 Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics of the American Physical Society. The award will be presented in February in Washington DC.

Steven Pieper and Robert Wiringa at Argonne National Laboratory

The two Argonne National Laboratory scientists were cited “for development of quantitative, ab initio calculations of the properties of nuclei from A = 6–12, including deep physical insight into the nature of nuclear forces and the application of state-of-the-art computational physics.”

“The work that led to our getting this award is a result of our collaborations with Vijay Pandharipande (who received the 1999 Bonner Prize) and many of his students, postdocs, and visitors,” said Pieper and Wiringa in an email to Department Head Dale J. Van Harlingen. They mentioned in particular the work of Joseph Carlson (MS 1979, PhD 1983), Rocco Schiavilla (MS 1984, PhD 1987), and Brian Pudliner (MS 1992, MCS 1996, PhD, 1996).

They went on to state, “With Vijay, Joe, Rocco, and Brian (in various combinations), we have written more than 60 refereed papers and review articles. We continue to miss Vijay and his wise counsel. We wish we could share our new discoveries and successes with him.” 

Pieper received his BS degree in physics from the University of Rochester in 1965, and his PhD from the University of Illinois in 1970. After a postdoc at Case Western Reserve, he joined Argonne National Laboratory, where he is currently a senior physicist. He was chief of the Physics Division’s theory group from 1987 to 1990. Robert Wiringa received a bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1972. He was Pandharipande’s first graduate student. After a postdoc at Los Alamos National Laboratory, he joined Argonne National Laboratory in 1981 as a research associate. He has been a senior physicist at ANL since 2000, serving as chief of the Theory Group, Physics Division, from 1994 to 2001. He was a visiting associate and lecturer at Caltech in 1993.

Robert Wiringa received a bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1972. He was Pandharipande’s first graduate student. After a postdoc at Los Alamos National Laboratory, he joined Argonne National Laboratory in 1981 as a research associate. He has been a senior physicist at ANL since 2000, serving as chief of the Theory Group, Physics Division, from 1994 to 2001. He was a visiting associate and lecturer at Caltech in 1993.

Both Pieper and Wiringa are Fellows of the APS, and they both received the University of Chicago Medal for Distinguished Performance at Argonne National Laboratory in 2000.
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Writer: Celia M. Elliott, Department of Physics, 217/244-7725.
Photo: Argonne National Laboratory.

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