10 November 2010

25thANNIVERSARY

ICTP’sDIRAC MEDAL

TheMedalThe Abdus Salam International Centre forTheoretical Physics awarded its first Dirac Medalin 1985. The Medal is given in honour of P.A.M.Dirac, one of the greatest physicists of thiscentury and a staunch friend of the Centre. Itis awarded annually on Dirac's birthday, 8 August,to an individual who has made significantcontributions to theoretical physics and/ormathematics. Medallists receive a medal and aprize of US$5,000.

An international committee selects the winnersfrom a list of nominated candidates. TheCommittee invites nominations from scientistsworking in the fields of theoretical physics ormathematics. The Dirac Medal is not awardedto Nobel Laureates or Wolf Foundation Prizewinners.

Paul Dirac at ICTP in 1968

The ManPaul Adrien Maurice Dirac was born in Bristol,UK, in 1902. He studied engineering in hishometown, and obtained his degree in physicsand mathematics at Cambridge University, wherein 1932 he became professor of mathematicsand was given the Lucasian Chair, which wasonce held by Sir Isaac Newton. After hisretirement, Dirac moved to Tallahassee, Florida,USA, where he taught at Florida State Universityfrom 1971 until his death in 1984. Elected tothe Royal Society in 1930, he won the RoyalMedal in 1939 and the Copley Medal in 1952.Dirac shared the Nobel Prize for Physics withErwin Schrödinger in 1933 "for the discovery ofnew productive forms of atomic theory."

A "Special Dirac Medal" was presented to hiswidow, Margit Dirac, on 24 July 1991.

TheBackgroundDirac, who was an ardent supporter of theCentre since its inception, visited the ICTP ona yearly basis from 1968 until the late 1970s.His arrival and active participation in the Centre'sactivities was always a great inspiration,particularly to physicists from developingcountries. To celebrate Dirac's 70th birthday,in September 1972 the ICTP held theInternational Symposium on the Developmentof the Physicist's Conception of Nature in theTwentieth Century (co-organised by theUniversity of Trieste and the University of Texasat Austin). The event proved to be the finalget-together for the brilliant scientistsresponsible for uncovering the theory of quantummechanics in the late 1920s. Among those inattendance were Subramanyan Chandrasekhar,Leon Cooper, Werner Heisenberg, Ilya Prigogine,Julian Schwinger, Eugene Wigner and Chen NingYang. More than a decade later, in light ofDirac's long-time association with the ICTP, theCentre established a medal in his honour.

Dirac Medallists, among the greatest physicistsand mathematicians of their time, receive amedal and a cash prize, and are invited to givea lecture on a topic of their own choosing atthe ICTP. The Medal is one of the mostprestigious awards in physics.

Abdus Salam, Margit Dirac, Sir Fred Hoyle

1985Edward WittenInstitute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA

for stimulating contributions to quantum fieldtheory, particularly with regard to the implicationsof new kinds of anomalies

The Winners

1985Yakov Zeldovich1914-1987

for far-ranging contributions to relativisticastrophysics, particularly in theories of compactobjects and cosmic evolution

1986Yoichiro NambuEnrico Fermi Institute for Nuclear Studies,Chicago, USA

for formulating the idea of spontaneous symmetrybreaking and, in particular, chiral symmetrybreaking in relativistic particle physics. Hiscontributions to the quark model in the 1960s andhis geometrical formulation of the dual resonancemodels as the dynamics of a relativistic string areof fundamental importance Yoichiro Nambu, Abdus Salam, Herwig Schopper

1987Bryce DeWitt1923-2004

for fundamental contributions to the study ofclassical and quantum gravity and non-Abeliangauge theory, in particular for the backgroundfield method and the methodology of ghost loopsin gauge theory

1987Bruno ZuminoUniversity of California, Berkeley, USA

for fundamental contributions to the study of chiralanomalies in gauge theories with fermions, theproposal of the first renormalizable Lagrangianfield theories to realize supersymmetry in 4-dimensional space-time, and for constructing thefirst supergravity theories in four dimensions

1986Alexander PolyakovPrinceton University, Princeton, USA

for being among the first to emphasize theimportance of scale invariance in quantum fieldtheory, particularly in connection with the theoryof critical phenomena and also his recognition ofthe relevance of topological ideas in field theorythrough the discovery of the monopole and instantonsolutions in non-Abelian Yang-Mills theories

1988Efim S. Fradkin1924-1999

for many fruitful contributions to the developmentof quantum field theory and statistics

Alexander Polyakov and Abdus Salam

1989John H. SchwarzCalifornia Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA

for many basic contributions to the developmentof superstring theory, the most significant beingthe discovery that chiral gauge anomalies areabsent for a class of ten dimensional superstringtheories

1990Ludwig D. FaddeevSteklov Mathematical Institute, St. Petersburg,Russian Federation

for many fundamental results in mathematicalphysics, in particular in connection with the 3-body system, solitons and exact integrable systemsand for the Faddeev-Popov covariant prescriptionof quantization of non-Abelian gauge theories

1988David J. GrossKavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Universityof California at Santa Barbara, USA

for fundamental contributions to the understandingof nuclear forces at short distances and to thetheory of superstrings, in particular the discoveryof asymptotic freedom in non-Abelian gaugetheories and the invention of the heteroticsuperstring model

1989Michael B. GreenLucasian Chair of Mathematics, Cambridge, UK

for many basic contributions to the developmentof superstring theory, the most significant beingthe discovery that chiral gauge anomalies areabsent for a class of ten dimensional superstringtheories

1991Jeffrey GoldstoneMassachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, USA

for his fundamental clarification of the phenomenonof spontaneous symmetry violation in relativisticquantum field theory

1990Sidney R. Coleman1937-2007

for contributions to quantum field theory, inparticular the classification of all possible bosonicsymmetries of S-matrix, the study of fundamentalproperties of two-dimensional field theories, andthe study of the quantum effective action and thephenomenon of dimensional transmutation

1991Stanley MandelstamUniversity of California, Berkeley, USA

for his representation of the analytic propertiesof scattering amplitudes in the form of doubledispersion relations (Mandelstam representation)and seminal work on the quantization of stringtheories

1992Nikolai N. Bogolubov1909-1992, posthumously

in recognition of many fundamental contributionsin physics and mathematics

1993Sergio FerraraCern, Geneva, Switzerland and University ofCalifornia at Los Angeles, USA

for the discovery of supergravity theory in 1976and major contributions in subsequentdevelopments of the theory

1992Yakov G. SinaiPrinceton University, Princeton, USA

for outstanding contributions to theoretical physicsand mathematics through the development ofergodic theory and its applications to dynamicalsystems, in particular billiards, phase transitions,quantum chaos and hydrodynamics

1993Daniel Z. FreedmanMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,USA

for the discovery of supergravity theory in 1976and major contributions in subsequentdevelopments of the theory

1993Peter van NieuwenhuizenState University of New York, Stony Brook, USA

for the discovery of supergravity theory in 1976and major contributions in subsequentdevelopments of the theory

1995Michael BerryUniversity of Bristol, UK

for the discovery of the non-integrable phase thatarises in adiabatic processes in quantum theory

1996Tullio ReggePolitecnico di Torino, Italy

for the so-called Regge behaviour that was, andremains, an important ingredient in theconstruction of string theories; for inventing thefirst discretization of space-time with a simpleEinstein dynamics and for his formulation ofsupergravity theories in the geometric languageof differential forms

1994Frank WilczekMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,USA

for the discovery of the phenomenon of "asymptoticfreedom" in non-Abelian gauge theories andcontributions to the study of particle-like excitationsin 2-dimensional systems that obey "fractionalstatistics"

1996Martinus J.G. VeltmanUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

for pioneering investigations on therenormalizability of gauge theories andconsequently his analysis of the sensitivity ofradiative corrections to both the mass differencesin fermion doublets and the Higgs particle mass

1998Stephen L. AdlerInstitute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA

for the triangle anomaly, one of the most profoundexamples of the relevance of quantum field theoryto the real world and for his famous sum rule thatled to a deep understanding of currents and brokensymmetries

1997Peter GoddardInstitute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA

for contributions on the quantization of therelativistic string and fundamental ideas concerninga dual interpretation of magnetic charge, andelectric-magnetic duality in non-Abelian gaugetheory, that have proved crucial in governing thedynamics of four-dimensional field theory and ofsuperstring theory

1998Roman JackiwMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,USA

for the triangle anomaly, one of the most profoundexamples of the relevance of quantum field theoryto the real world and the discovery of fractionalcharge and spin in 2-dimensional field theories

1997David OliveUniversity College of Swansea, UK

for his pioneering study of space-timesupersymmetry in string theories and for ideasconcerning a dual interpretation of magneticcharge, and electric-magnetic duality in non-Abelian gauge theory, that have had far-reachingimportance in governing the dynamics of four-dimensional field theory and of superstring theory

2000Jogesh PatiUniversity of Maryland, College Park and StanfordLinear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, USA

for pioneering contributions to the quest for aunified theory of quarks and leptons and of thestrong, weak, and electromagnetic interactions

2000Howard GeorgiHarvard University, Cambridge, USA

for pioneering contributions to the quest for aunified theory of the strong, weak, andelectromagnetic interactions, including the estimateof the natural scale of unification

2000Helen QuinnStanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park,USA

for pioneering contributions to the quest for aunified theory of the strong, weak, andelectromagnetic interactions, including the estimateof the natural scale of unification and insightsabout CP conservation in strong interactions

1999Giorgio ParisiUniversity of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy

for contributions ranging from the study of scalingviolations in deep inelastic processes to the use ofsupersymmetry, multifractals and growth modelsin statistical physics and, in particular, hisgroundbreaking analysis of the replica method incomplex systems

2002Alan GuthMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,USA

for the development of the concept of inflation incosmology. Although the history of the very earlyuniverse has not been firmly established, the ideaof inflation has already had notable observationalsuccesses, and it has become the paradigm forfundamental studies in cosmology

2001John J. HopfieldPrinceton University, Princeton, USA

for important contributions in an impressivelybroad spectra of scientific subjects, including theproofreading process in biomolecular synthesis andthe Hopfield model of neural processing

2002Andrei LindeStanford University, Stanford, USA

for the development of the concept of inflation incosmology. Although the history of the very earlyuniverse has not been firmly established, the ideaof inflation has already had notable observationalsuccesses, and it has become the paradigm forfundamental studies in cosmology

2002Paul SteinhardtPrinceton University, Princeton, USA

for the development of the concept of inflation incosmology. Although the history of the very earlyuniverse has not been firmly established, the ideaof inflation has already had notable observationalsuccesses, and it has become the paradigm forfundamental studies in cosmology

2004Curtis G. CallanPrinceton University, Princeton, USA

for his substantial contributions to particle physicsand string theory, in particular for his work on theperturbative renormalization group

2003Vladimir E. ZakharovLandau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Moscow,Russian Federation, and University of Arizona,Tucson, USA

for putting the theory of wave turbulence on afirm mathematical ground by finding turbulencespectra as exact solutions and solving the stabilityproblem, and in introducing the notion of inverseand dual cascades in wave turbulence

2003Robert H. Kraichnan1928-2008

for his pioneering work on field-theoreticapproaches to turbulence and other non-equilibriumsystems; one of his profound physical ideas is thatof the inverse cascade for two-dimensionalturbulence

2004James D. BjorkenStanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park,USA

for his pioneering contributions to the theory ofdeep inelastic scattering

2005Sir Samuel Frederick EdwardsUniversity of Cambridge, UK

for his fundamental contributions to polymerphysics, spin glass theory and the physics of granularmatter

2005Patrick A. LeeMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,USA

for his pioneering contributions to our understandingof disordered and strongly interacting many-bodysystems

2006Peter ZollerUniversity of Innsbruck and Institute for QuantumOptics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academyof Sciences

for innovative and prolific work in atomic physics,including seminal work proposing methods to usetrapped ions for quantum computing and describinghow to realize the Bose-Hubbard model andassociated phase transitions in ultracold gases

2007John IliopoulosLaboratoire de Physique Théorique, Ecole NormaleSupérieure, Paris, France

for his work on the physics of the charm quark, amajor contribution to the birth of the StandardModel, the modern theory of Elementary Particles

2008Juan Martin MaldacenaInstitute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA

for his fundamental contribution to superstringtheory, in particular for the gauge theory-gravitycorrespondence

2008Cumrun VafaHarvard University, Cambridge, USA

for his fundamental contribution to superstringtheory, in particular to the physics and mathematicsof mirror symmetry, orbifold compactificationsand black hole physics

2008Joseph PolchinskiKavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Universityof California at Santa Barbara, USA

for his fundamental contribution to superstringtheory, in particular for the discovery of D-branes

2007Luciano MaianiCNR President and University of Rome“La Sapienza”, Italy

for his work on the physics of the charm quark, amajor contribution to the birth of the StandardModel, the modern theory of Elementary Particles

2010Nicola Cabibbo1935-2010, posthumously

for his fundamental contribution to theunderstanding of weak interactions, in particularfor his recognition of the significance of mixing

2010Ennackal Chandy George SudarshanUniversity of Texas, Austin, USA

for his fundamental contribution to theunderstanding of weak interactions and otheraspects of theoretical physics

2009Michele ParrinelloSwiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich),Switzerland

for developing the ab initio simulation method inwhich he combined, elegantly and imaginatively,the quantum mechanical density functional methodfor the calculation of the electronic properties ofmatter with molecular dynamics methods for theNewtonian simulation of atomic motions

2009Roberto CarPrinceton University, Princeton, USA

for developing the ab initio simulation method inwhich he combined, elegantly and imaginatively,the quantum mechanical density functional methodfor the calculation of the electronic properties ofmatter with molecular dynamics methods for theNewtonian simulation of atomic motions

PhotosRoberto Barnabà, Giovanni Montenero, Ludovico Scrobogna, Massimo Silvano

ICTP Photo Archives

ICTP Public Information Office, November 2010